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Not rated. () |
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2095 |
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Plot:
As unflinching and bleak as it is beautiful, Tim Roth's directorial debut, The War Zone, is remarkably accomplished filmmaking. Adapted by Alexander Stuart from his own novel, the film centers ...( read more 
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MCT:April 15, 2008There's a graphic anal rape scene in The War Zone that causes everyone who dares to watch it flinch and wince in agony. Mostly because it's between a man and his daughter, with the son secretely videotaping the event. But it's not this scene (which is easily one of the most powerful and troubling scenes of recent cinema) I want to talk about. It's the moment immediately following it, which hopefully helps explain why I can only give this movie 3.5 stars. The son witnesses this horrible, disgusting event. He walks away, holding the camera, the evidence inside. He goes to a rocky cliff with the crashing waves below. And then, without a change of expression, he throws the camera away, destroying the evidence. Now, many people love this sort of ambigiouity. But, for me, it ruined the entire film, and is the primary reason why I don't love this movie as much as seemingly everyone else. You see, I don't believe this character would do that. Moreover, I don't believe ANY human being in they're right mind would throw away that camera. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to discover and witness this sort of event, but no matter how disturbing it would be, I know without a doubt any sane person would keep that footage and use it to send that sick bastard straight to jail. So if no human being alive would do this, why did this character do it? Simple - because he's in an independant, art house film. And that is this movie's ultimate weakness. It caves into the art-house style of filmmaking so often, so easily, and so excessively, that no enjoyment can be had from watching the flick. You probably know what I mean when I say "art house film". I'm sure you've seen the type - glacial camera movements, characters barely speaking more than a couple words at once, everyone acting very morose and quiet, no character really doing or saying what real people would in that situation. These are just some of the art-house film characteristics that almost sink The War Zone. It's not that these elements are bad, it's just that they're so common in independant movies that they become tiresome. Having said this, and now that you know that this movie is filled from top to bottom with characters never breaking a smile or speaking above one decibal, and how characters will often act or react in completely inhuman ways, it still manages to be a powerful film. The subject matter of incest itself is so harrowing that I'm glad director Tim Roth refused to pull any punches. Make no mistake - this movie will shake you and be hard to get rid of. Ray Winstone, who plays the despicable pedophile father, is so good in this movie he'll likely give you chills of fear and disgust. He's simply excellent in this movie, as is the girl who plays his daughter and bares herself emotionally and physically for the role. Everyone in this movie is brave and respectable, except the kid actor who plays the main character, the son. He's awful. I hated his character - not only for doing inanely stupid things like throwing away the camera, but because he never does anything. He's not a human being - he's a robot, gliding around, moping, sulking, his head always down, his voice rarely above a whisper. It's a terrible teenage performance. The direction of the movie is solid, the cinematography and music are exceptional. The screenplay, however, I have a problem with. Roth eschews so much sentimentality in this movie that he winds up with a script that occasionally is so muted and dour, it threatens to become nearly invisible. There's no character we can relate to - feel sympathy for, yes, but when no character is given any interesting or remotely revealing lines of dialogue to say throughout the entire film, it's hard to really relate and become engaged. All this ambigiuty, mystery, and real-life messiness causes the film to be unbelievably praised. Critics adored it - in fact, one of my favourite critics thinks it's the 25th best film of all time. Astounding praise. But I just couldn't quite see it. The movie redeems a lot of it's failures by having some scenes of incredible power and an ending that's suitably haunting and eloquent. The film is painful, yes, the critics are definitely right about that. But is any of it especially real? I'm sure many people would tell me that incestual rape is something many keep secret and that the boy throwing away the camera is not that unlikely. But I still just couldn't buy that scene, and several others. The movie's I find particularily moving - not just painful and important, but really strong enough to get under my skin - are not usually art-house films where characters act and talk too much like they're being written. The movie's that really get to me are ones where characters are real, human beings, allowed to think and speak in a manner which can actually express more than just the basic horrible things we humans can do. All in all, The War Zone is indeed a good movie, but I don't think it's worthy of all the high praise heaped upon it. It's very graphic, chilling, and disturbing, so it's not for every viewer. But if you can stomach it (and can suspend your disbelief in regards to the typical art-house form), you will definitely see a film you'll never forget.
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MCT:March 24, 2008Recently I've talked to friend discussing who is the best example of a evil on screen. Daniel Plainview, Anton Churigah, Hannibal and Darth Vader were all mentioned. However after seeing Tim Roth's beautiful and underrated The War Zone I'd like to suggest that Ray Winstone's Dad is hands down the best example. This is easily the most overlooked performance of the last 10 years. (I only watched it because we and me friends were looking for a movie to watch at his house.) It's amazing how Winstone can be seem so kind one minute and the next we seem his doing unbelievably cruel things to his daughter and the weird thing is both sides are perfectly believable. Also the actress who played his daughter is nothing short of heartbreaking and Tilda Swinton even with little screen time proves that she's a fantastic actress.
The War Zone left me wondering why Roth hasn't bothered to make another film as a director? He's a extremely gifted filmmaker that doesn't hide anything for a happy ending. Even when the film almost becomes too unbearable to sit through (Some scenes just made me want to turn The War Zone off and just watch Enchanted with my little sister again.) It's a honest, gritty and depressing look at the issues of abuse and a near perfect film. -
MCT:March 3, 2008
A little unsettling at times because of the material, but it's a good directional debut from Tim Roth.
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MCT:February 26, 2008
Incest, adolescence and rainy grey beaches in Devon, England. That about sums up the material - not the film - in The War Zone, actor Tim Roth's directorial debut, which is as powerful a film as anything I've personally seen - and I've seen a few - and quite possibly among the most depressing.
Adapted from the controversial novel by Alexander Stuart, the film is about a 15 year-old boy (Freddie Cunliffe) who thinks he has seen his older sister in the bath having inappropriate relations with their father, played by Ray Winstone. Facing opposition from his sister (Lara Belmont) he tries to establish the truth and then do something about it.
Roth does not pull any punches with the subject-matter and coaxes out some highly charged performances from his young cast. Their personal chemistry is what may persuade an audience to sit through some shocking and disturbing scenes, much of it in a windswept WWII pillbox overlooking the beach.
Following his critically acclaimed part in Gary Oldman's Nil By Mouth, Winstone proved with this performance that he could act sensitive monsters as well as bullying ones. His character here is a loving father one minute, a manipulative sodomite the next. Tilda Swinton only plays a supporting role as the unsuspecting mother, but her onscreen presence is as magnetic as anything she's done recently - Oscar winner performance in Michael Clayton included.
Although this would turn out to be Roth's first and only directorial effort (at least so far) he can go to sleep at night knowing that he is more than Tarantino's glove puppet, a talented director in his own right. Like Gary Oldman, he has obviously been storing up a desire to tell something honest and bleak after all those escapist film roles. He has pulled off something special here, another piece of impressively gritty, thoroughly uncommercial drama that the British seem to specialise in when they're not regrettably trying to whore themselves to American audiences. The arthouse circuit will probably love it, but it hardly qualifies as entertainment. Hard, hard to watch. -
MCT:February 20, 2008
Disturbing... just as I had expected, but I had to watch it as it was directed by one of my favorite actors, Tim Roth. I thought he did a good job making the characters and the situation feel very real but was limited a little bit by the story as the film seemed to be a little too slow, especially for an already short film, probably because of the few number of things that happen in the story. The soundtrack is great, conveying the feeling of serenity during or right after a distressing scene, in a mocking fashion. The end sections were really good, but it kinda took a long time to get there. This also confirmed for me that Tilda Swinton is one of the most unattractive women ever.
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