There'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.
Recently 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.
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.
I have seen many powerful films in my life, but few compare to the off-beat, unsettling and totally uncompromising 'War Zone', actor turned director Tim Roth's first film. Many people despised it for being so raunchy, straight-forward and too realistic, while others praised it for that very same reason. 'The War Zone' is a very hard-to-watch film because it portrays incest -- such a terrible and disgusting event going on in some families today. I was repulsed by the film's haunting and brooding score, but I have to say I was amazed also. 'The War Zone' is a brilliant film and an incredible first effort from Tim Roth.
'The War Zone' follows an isolated British family living in the lush green hills somewhere in England. The family consists of a dad (Ray Winstone - Sexy Beast), a mum (Tilda Swinton - The Deep End), a baby (Megan Thorp), a in-her-late-teens daughter (Lara Belmont) and a in-his-younger-teens son (Freddie Cunliffe) who's perspective the film is shot from. Everything seems to be going so excellent for this new family with the new baby and all, until one day the son sees something he's not supposed to -- the dad molesting the daughter. This tears this seemingly happy family apart and it comes to a huge, yucky boil at the end of the feature.
'The War Zone' moves a little slow towards the beginning but in a way that it is it's only flaw. Tim Roth does a semi-amateurish but mostly consistent job directing while Alexander Stuart provides an incredible screenplay that should have picked up an Oscar nomination. The cast is astounding with a powerhouse lead performance from Ray Winstone that proves him to be perhaps one of the finest British actors working in film today. Tilda Swinton is excellent for the limited screen time her character as 'mum' has, while the movie in a way belongs to the kids. Freddie Cunliffe is extraordinary in his role, while newcomer Lara Belmont is spellbinding in every scene and never ceases to bring emotion out of the viewer. Supposedly she was working at 'Burger King' before she did the film. I think it's safe to say she won't be working there anymore. The camera-work is really low-budget and the DVD frustrated me because it had no subtitles.
All in all, Tim Roth's 'The War Zone' is an amazing motion picture but a crappy DVD. The poorly-formatted DVD is worth buying just because of the awesome quality of the movie itself. If you love and appreciate film and think you have a strong enough stomach for this one, be sure to do a 100-meter dash to the videostore and snag a copy of 'The War Zone'. Grade: A-
Such a Beautiful Film. Beautifully Directed For such a Dark Film. The Performances were Very Good. Especially From the Young ones. I didnt really Think this film was hard to Stomach but I can see how people would think that. Some of the scenes would be hard to watch for some people. But overall this film is great. See It now! This is going on my Favourite Films List.
superbly directed by actor tim roth, this sees a tenager, afected by abuse from her father, and how she escapes her daily troubles, the father is played by ray winestone and hes a proper bastard, a very good and important look at child abuse, in the u.k. also check out nil by mouth, directed by gary oldman, a film about abuse in marriage, again starring ray winestone, and a terrific performance from cathy burke, as the abused, check them both out, great but important watches.
i trust tim roth cuz hes a great actor(see resevoir dogs, pulp fiction, gridlock'd) but im still borderline on this because its like grinding your teeth... very uncomfortable
Prepared to be shocked, this has incest in it and quite graphic, but is very dark and moody, quite an excellent film. Ray Winstone is on superb perforance here.
For a film that touches on a sensitive topic, The War Zone is pretty graphic in terms of sexual and physical abuse which are the drive of the story. The gritty and almost silent backdrop does produce a very realistic atmosphere and sense of unease... and thats BEFORE what I like to call the "Dreaded anal incest bunker scene", and from that you can get what I mean when I say graphic. Although it ends well for me personally, it's still easily forseeable. However on some level I think the inclusion of Colin Farrel for about 3 minutes was there just to attract an audience and his role quickly leaves the rest of the film which is about another hour. Probably wouldn't watch it again but for first time watchers, its a very much "out there" piece of film.
its weird but erally scary. we see all the family. and then its weird we wanna kknow wahts going on /w teh family! there aere like no effects and its all very boring look but it works. he should make moer movies!
Tom (Cunliffe) has just moved to Devon with his elder sister Jessie (Belmont) and their Mum (Swinton) and Dad (Winstone). He has become suspicious that his Father and Sister are having an incestuous relationship and, one day, follows them on one of their walks to see if he is right. The answer tears the family apart. Whatever you think about The War Zone one thing can not be denied: This is a truly shocking and disturbing film. Any film that takes incest as its subject is going to have a difficult time getting screened but few either tackle the subject as head on, or had as much trouble getting a wide release, as The War Zone. The first thing one must say about this film is that the performances are remarkable. Lara Belmont was 17 and had never acted before this film was shot. She really is thrown in at the deep end, Jessie's is the most important role in the film and a very complex character for such a young and inexperienced actress. Belmont delivers in the role, she gives easily the best performance in the film. There is a horrible, yet cathartic moment towards the end of the film when she turns on Dad (In a brilliant touch neither parent is named) and screams at him "You fuck me" she tells him. Though everyone (in the scene and the audience) knows this Dad still denies it. The other challenge for Belmont is how graphic the material here is, she spends an inordinate amount of her screen time naked and halfway through the film is subjected to a graphic and horrifying rape scene. It can't have been a comfortable situation for her and that only helps her performance. In fact Belmont is so good that it almost seems wrong to call it a performance, the whole film has a great sense of realism and much of the time you feel you could be watching a documentary. Given her performance here it astounds me that Belmont had never acted before, if there were any justice she would have won, at least, a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The other participant in that rape scene is Ray Winstone. His performance as Dad is a fascinating one, aside from the rape scene he plays him as a good man, and an excellent parent. This an interesting choice, before the rape scene we like Dad, he seems like the kind of parent we'd all want; responsible and caring. Of course this all goes out the window once Tom has his suspicions confirmed. Winstone has said that he found the rape scene hard to shoot because he has a daughter Belmont's age. The scene is hard to watch for just that reason, most of us know someone like Jessie, and someone like Dad. We see each of the events in the film (just as we did the novel from which it is adapted) through the eyes of Tom. Freddie Cunliffe, like Lara Belmont, had never acted before he won this part, and he too gives an excellent, understated, performance. He was 15 years old when The War Zone was shot and he gives a much more mature performance than that would suggest. He plays Tom as a more quiet character than the book suggested and the deletion of some of the background information on the character has made him more likeable and easier to empathise with. Tilda Swinton is a bit underused as Mum, her performance less memorable purely because she falls outside the main conflict of the film, between Jessie, Dad and Tom. Take nothing away from her though, she does her job well but the script gives us fewer memorable moments with her than with the others. Tim Roth took the decision to shoot his directorial debut in a ratio of 2.35:1. His shot composition is wonderful, using the whole of the frame beautifully; this is a film that loses a lot on video. The bleak landscapes are nicely captured by Roth and his DP and serve as a perfect metaphoric backdrop for the story. I have made much of how disturbing and hard to watch the rape scene in the middle of the film is, and I stand by my words. The question is; is it justified? Do we need to see this abuse depicted so graphically and upsettingly? My answer is a resounding YES. It is useful to draw comparison here with another excellent film; The Accused in that film it was vital that (however difficult an experience it was) we see what Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) was subjected to and prove a court case. Here it serves only to prove Tom right. An interesting choice in comparison to the book was to make it crystal clear that this is a case of rape. In the novel Jessie is much more complicit in the incest (Indeed it is inferred that she instigated the whole thing). The scene makes the issue entirely unambiguous, something it could never be if we only heard about it. You won't enjoy The War Zone, I'd be concerned if anyone did, but it is hard not to be impressed by the dedication of the cast and director to making such an honest portrayal of such a challenging subject. This is a brilliant film, one I'd recommend to any adult (it is certainly not suitable for anyone under 18), but be warned it is far from an easy viewing experience.
This film made me feel sick! It was horrible seeing one of my favourite actors play the part of an incestual nonce!! What was Ray Winstone thinking when he took this part?!!
From what I've read of this film, it seems very disturbing and emotionally charged. The way people have reacted to it makes me want to see just how haunting it really is.
Tim Roth's first (and so far only) feature is well worth hunting down. Newcomer Lara Belmont (who seems to be treading water today) is utterly fantastic in what is a very complex and demanding role.
this film is pretty disturbing. the cinematography is excellent because it realtes so well to the main issue involved. i really like this film, but it can make some people uncomfortable.
The film that shouldn't exist, but it does. One of the most haunting, moving pictures I have experienced. The cast gives incredibly memorable performances with a special mention of Laura Belmont (a non-actor) whose work here is as great as any great performance by an actress. In my top ten favourite films.
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