Review of The War Zone (1999) by Steve W — 19 Jan 2009

Excruciatingly painful and moving drama, Tim Roth's first effort at directing is an extraordinary triumph in emotional power.

Through the delicate subject in incest, which is portrayed as little as possible and yes is tattooed through every minute of the film, The War Zone resonates as one of the more underrated films of the past decade. With a subject like that it was never going to get an Oscar nod, but the sheer strength of the film, through the most subtle of moments make this not matter a jot.

There's a bit of everything we hear about child abuse and incest throughout this film that we hear about; the person responsible inevitably seems like a loving father and husband, and Winstone's ability to be a likeable person and a terrific actor respectively, who in his darkest moments is simply an animal. But the most amazing performances come from the children, his son and daughter, the son having a kind of numb anger running through his physique, which in any other film could be teenage angst, but there's much more in his eyes. The daughter has of course been manipuilated to believe that nothing has happened, and even up to the final powerful climax of The War Zone, the father is trying to convince them both that it's all in their heads; an effective look into mental blackmail and brainwashing.

The War Zone is more than likely going to be the bleakest thing you'll ever see. Set on the Devon coast with dull shades of grey saturating the greens of the grass, the slow pace, which can turn into something quite boring in many films, actually makes you feel more, rather than take it away.

It's hard to say that The War Zone has a couple of niggles or problems, because simply put, it doesn't. The acting is out of the top drawer, the script is effective, the location ideal and the research must have been extensive. Don't expect to enjoy The War Zone, it's not made for that. It tortures you to make you feel what each indvidual character feels, even the bad ones, and there aren't many films around that can manage that quite so successfully.