The War Zone (1999)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  Accusations of incest surface in an isolated family. This is a remarkably dark drama. The pace is slow and the mood is always heavy. While I understand that the story and subject matter fit the dreary atmosphere, I couldn't help but think that I'd rather slit my wrists… More
  Accusations of incest surface in an isolated family. This is a remarkably dark drama. The pace is slow and the mood is always heavy. While I understand that the story and subject matter fit the dreary atmosphere, I couldn't help but think that I'd rather slit my wrists than continue watching. There is little energy behind most of the performances, which often amount to pensive, angry looks in steady shots. This is true save Ray Winstone, whose character has life and a humanity despite his depravity. The one compelling moment is in the third act when Tom finally confronts his father with his suspicions. Winstone gets to show off his talent, but the rest of the cast is left in the miasma of the film's heavy climate.

• Dan S

  
  A grim, searing depiction of incest and an overall unforgettable film which details a loving family of five and how three of them (all except the newborn baby and mother) quietly battle a troubling secret that threatens to rip them asunder. This film is paced to perfection, expertly… More
  A grim, searing depiction of incest and an overall unforgettable film which details a loving family of five and how three of them (all except the newborn baby and mother) quietly battle a troubling secret that threatens to rip them asunder. This film is paced to perfection, expertly acted, and masterfully concluded by director Tim Roth (a fantastic actor in his own right as well), and leaves absolutely nothing out. The atmosphere is appropriately dark, complementing the gray and rainy setting of the story. It does fall under "not a film for everyone" territory, it's definitely an emotionally draining experience that covers an issue only lightly touched on in cinema before. Kudos to Roth for bringing an uncompromisingly brutal and bleak story like this to the screen - it's the stroke of a genius film-maker.

• Luke B

  
  The themes and the film itself can be summed up by one early scene. As a mother is giving birth in a car, it suddenly crashes. This perfectly represents the destruction of something beautiful. Like the love of a father for her daughter being very corrupt and unsettling. Roth shows… More
  The themes and the film itself can be summed up by one early scene. As a mother is giving birth in a car, it suddenly crashes. This perfectly represents the destruction of something beautiful. Like the love of a father for her daughter being very corrupt and unsettling. Roth shows excellent talent as a director. He handles a cruel and disturbing subject with great sensitivity. The film is never too explicit, and leaves many things up to the viewers interpretation. It's all too real, and all too bleak. Winstone gives a fantastic performance, being shown as a decent man and a good father. As the film unravels he shows the sickening glimpses of his uncontrollable lust. He doesn't play the role as a "bad guy" which is paramount in it's success. This is obviously a man in denial and suffering from dissociative disorder. It also shows the impact, psychologically, on the entire family. The son, whom is the closest character we have to a hero, certainly has problems, and the daughter has moments of predatory nature. Are these wounds inflicted by the father or inherent in their own make-up? A great thought provoking film, but never an easy watch.

• _kelly .

  
  Review addendum March 6, 2009: I realized just now what would/could have made this film perfect: more scenes with dialogue between the brother and sister. Just more verbal communication between those two would have altogether changed the dynamic of the film from nihilistic and bleh to… More
  Review addendum March 6, 2009: I realized just now what would/could have made this film perfect: more scenes with dialogue between the brother and sister. Just more verbal communication between those two would have altogether changed the dynamic of the film from nihilistic and bleh to ambiguous and arresting. -- For the most part, I will just bitch because I'd get quickly tired of making a list of all the things that this film does well. I will say the setting is my favorite component. This is quite emotionally loaded for being so slow, uneventful, and unevenly paced; that's because when something does happen, it is gigantically dramatic like (SPOLIERS) a graphic car wreck with the entire family racing an in-labor Mum to the hospital or Dad anally raping Jess while Tom watches . A family has moved from London to a remote seaside area where they are isolated with their immediate familial problems: Mum has just had a baby, Tom is coming of age sexually, and Dad is fucking Tom's older sister who is close in age to Tom. The story is meant by cinematic suggestion to be told from Tom's point of view, but that is a major deficit as I feel his character is so underdeveloped to the extent that he has no uniqueness besides his detached demeanor. Everyone besides the actor for Tom delivers intriguing and multi-layered performances or real people. Perhaps Tom is meant to be stilted and removed, like the camera that simply records. It would mean that we have to do a lot of filling in the blanks for Tom's internal monologue, so in a way, our thoughts could become projected as Tom's. So whether or not the director intended this, it works. There are some detrimental sound mix issues, as some of the dialogue is inaudible even at quiet moments, and then the ocean roars or engine drones over the already near-muted speaking. This is a very bleak film, both in color tones and story theme. I doubt there is much of a traditional market for a work this serious about itself, but those who do see it certainly will not feel any closure about this film. Ultimate in conveying the ambiguity of reality to a point that you will be left in an ambiguity haze after seeing this film. That's what makes this so good and ALMOST earned it an extra half star; it is an art house melodrama that does what it's meant to. Watch to find out.

• Arash X

  
  Bleak & Harrowing, Tim Roth's directorial debut

• Stefanie C

  
  disturbing material

• Stephen E

  
  Tim Roth's debut "The War Zone" is one of the more depressing movie-watching experiences I've had. It offers us a harsh and unflinchingly brutal look at incestual relations between a father and daughter and the effects it has on the son, who witnesses all of it in… More
  Tim Roth's debut "The War Zone" is one of the more depressing movie-watching experiences I've had. It offers us a harsh and unflinchingly brutal look at incestual relations between a father and daughter and the effects it has on the son, who witnesses all of it in action. Never is any of what you see easy to stomach, yet you will find yourself oddly attracted to the screen. This is largely due to the powerhouse performances (especially from Ray Winstone in a gruesome and profane tyrade) and the bold direction from Tim Roth, who shows us what he wants us to see, never holding back and never lacking audacity. "The War Zone" may sag in a few spots, but for the most part, this is a tense and enticing watch.

• Daisy M

  
  <a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>for nudity, sexual content, molestation, language and violence. The… More
  <a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>for nudity, sexual content, molestation, language and violence. The war zone is quite a powerful movie, dealing with incest. It was a realistic movie and the director did not hide anything of showing a father immorality towards his family.It was a hard to watch movie cause it showed incest ,which is a very disgusting event that happen everywhere in every country.I felt very disgusted by the movie scenes, but glad on the other hand, because they can show these kind of things openly to the viewer, so people can be more aware that these things happen also. The War Zone is a brilliant movie directed by Tim Roth.

• Lauren D

  
  Not much to say about. It was really slow, but it wasn't too bad. I put it off for ages coz I hate Colin Farrell and try to avoid anything he's in (which is everything), but he was only in it for a second, yay. Anyway, it seemed kind of pointless, as dramas usually are.… More
  Not much to say about. It was really slow, but it wasn't too bad. I put it off for ages coz I hate Colin Farrell and try to avoid anything he's in (which is everything), but he was only in it for a second, yay. Anyway, it seemed kind of pointless, as dramas usually are. The rape scene was kind of cool, but then, I like rape scenes (which is why I found the movie in the first place, I have strange interests). Um.. yeah and the brother was really creepy which didn't help the 'believability'. The dad was really good though.

• Wu C

  
  A little unsettling at times because of the material, but it's a good directional debut from Tim Roth.

Read all 10 featured audience ratings