The War Zone

TIFF [1999]

Full size poster

Directed by Tim Roth. Produced by Sarah Radclyffe and Dixie Linder. Executive Producer, Eric Abraham. Written by Alexander Stuart, based on his novel of the same name.

Starring: Ray Winstone, Lara Belmont, Freddie Cunliffe, Tilda Swinton

Since our intrepid reporter, RobertL, couldn't make it to Tim Roth's directorial debut, The War Zone, and passed his ticket along to me, I thought I'd at least put up a review for all you Roth fans.

Full size Tim Roth photo

Almost three years in the making (so that's where he's been!!!) The War Zone is a devastatingly emotional film about the horrors of incest and the havoc it wreaks on a middle-class British family.

Newcomers Lara Belmont and Freddie Cunliffe join British veterans Ray Winstone and Tilda Swinton in forming the family in question. They've just welcomed home a new baby sister, a miracle child born in the midst of a car accident, when brother Tom (Cunliffe) notices something strange between his sister and father through a window one evening. When confronted, his sister denies all with a sneering bravado, but Tom knows what he saw and pursues proof, coming closer and closer to the truth every minute of the film.

To say this film is difficult to watch is an understatement. Not because it's a bad film -- it's actually beautifully shot, using the Devon countryside to its fullest and using muted colors to establish a distinct mood, and it's incredibly well acted -- but because it's completely uncompromising in its evocation of despair, rage and sheer evil. And that's exactly what Roth, in his talk with the audience after the film, said he was after.

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At turns confrontational, mischievous, funny and touching, Roth gave one of the best question and answer sessions I've ever attended. At a whopping 45 minutes, people debated plot points (Roth left many deliberately vague, saying he didn't want to insult the audience's intelligence and felt that each person can construct their own interpretation of what happened) as well as the controversial subject matter and the way in which it was portrayed. Those in the audience who indicated they had some experience with sexual abuse, either as survivors or as people who worked with survivors, complimented him on the accuracy of the portrayal of this family: ordinary, everyday people burying a horrible secret that's bound to explode.

Personally, I thought the film could have been a bit tighter (but then I prefer my movies to be faster-paced and Roth said he just likes the slower pace that he's used in The War Zone, so it's just a subjective thing). Its often graphic nature drove some people out of the theatre, but I didn't find it gratuitous or unnecessary (such scenes are more difficult in their emotional horror than nudity or sexual content). But I have to say that the performances of Cunliffe and Belmont (who Roth said have absolutely no acting experience) were truly moving, and although he was really great, I'd love to see Winstone in a role other than that of the dad from hell (he was also the abusive husband and father in Gary Oldman's Nil By Mouth). Final verdict? Worth seeing, but prepare yourself.

LidiaF

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