The War Zone (1999)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Tim Roth

Writers:

Alexander Stuart (novel)
Alexander Stuart (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 June 1999 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An alienated teenager, saddened that he has moved away from London, must find a way to deal with a dark family secret.

Plot Keywords:

Rural | Family Secret | Car Accident | Murder | Undressing

Awards:

9 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Ray Winstone	...	Dad
Lara Belmont	...	Jessie
Freddie Cunliffe	...	Tom
Tilda Swinton	...	Mum
Colin Farrell	...	Nick (as Colin J. Farrell)
Aisling O'Sullivan	...	Carol
Kate Ashfield	...	Lucy
Megan Thorp	...	Baby Alice
Kim Wall	...	Barman
Annabelle Apsion	...	Nurse

Also Known As:

Tim Roth's The War Zone (USA) (poster title)
Zona di guerra (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, some involving molestation, and for nudity, language and a scene of violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Italy | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Hartland, Devon, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

According to director 'Tim Roth' the bunker scene was so difficult to film that the sound man almost ruined a take by crying into his microphone. Ray Winstone also found acting the scene upsetting and nearly left the production because of it.

Beautiful, troubling, superbly acted

Probably the worst thing about Tim Roth's audacious directorial debut is its title: 'The War Zone' conjures images of something rather noisier, and less subtle, than this film about aberrant sexuality within a family unit. Roth is brave enough to show love among the hate, and to assign a limited degree of complicit guilt to the apparent victim: the film gains greatly from both of these decisions. He also has interesting visual ideas: the film is full of lonely, widescreen images in which the central subjects appear almost lost; and homely Devon has never looked wilder and less civilised than it does here, depicted in winter and at night. Roth also gets great performances from all his cast: in what is essentially a four-hander, Tilda Swinton is good in a limited part, Ray Winstone shows (not for the first time) that he has talents beyond those required for his customary hard-man roles, but it's the young actors who are most outstanding: Freddie Cunliffe as the troubled boy who discovers dark secrets, and especially the beautiful, opaque Laura Belmont who is simply tremendous as his sexually aware, not-as-cool-as-she-seems sister. At time the soundtrack seems a bit generic, and I'm not entirely convinced by the open ending, but this is still a better film than many directors make in their careers. On the strength of this movie, Roth should enjoy a long career behind the camera.