War Zone, The movie overview

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War Zone, The Overview

The molten emotional power that flows from Tim Roth's directorial debut carries multiple messages that sear one's soul. Yet it also faithfully portrays one of the harshest aspects of the relationship between children and parents. Based on an acclaimed novel by Alexander Stuart, The War Zone is an often-troubling exposition on family dynamics and the dysfunction that bubbles beneath the surface. Award winning actors Ray Winstone and Tilda Swinton, along with complete newcomers Lara Belmont and Freddie Cunliffe, give such incredibly deep and intense performances that one is definitely riveted (almost painfully so) to the screen. The family has just resettled in the Devon countryside from London, and fifteen-year-old Tom is bored and lonely, while his eighteen-year-old sister, Jessie, seems much more comfortable in the new surroundings. When "mum" gives birth to the family's third child, despite a near-tragic car accident on the way to the hospital, all appears to be well. But this happy event is shattered when Tom stumbles upon a horrific scene, and in short order the appearance of normality is unmasked, and any semblance of trust and kinship is threatened. Director Roth designs an inexorably desperate drama that questions the very fabric of family life even as it eschews pat explanations or psychological reduction. With an extraordinary feel for the banality of real-life evil and an almost-claustrophobic jolt of narrative truth, The War Zone stays with you long after you have left the theatre.

Production
Channel Four Films [gb]; Fandango [it]; Mikado Films; Portobello Pictures [gb];

Cast Names
Ray Winstone; Lara Belmont; Freddie Cunliffe; Tilda Swinton; Colin Farrell; Aisling O'Sullivan; Kate Ashfield; Megan Thorp; Kim Wall; Annabelle Apsion;

Box Office
USD 237,029

Release Date
1999-01-29 (Sundance Film Festival)
1999-09-17 (Boston Film Festival)
1999-10-01 * (Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival)
1999-12-10 (limited)

Genres
Drama;

MPAA Rating [?]
Rated R for sexual content, some involving molestation, and for nudity, language and a scene of violence.

Running Time
1 hr. 38 min.

Director
Tim Roth

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War Zone, The movie overview