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The War Zone Details

1999 DVD Certificate 18.gif
  • Rated:
  • 60
  • from 1826 members

Tim Roth's directorial debut, based on the novel by Alexander Stuart (who adapted the screenplay), is not for the faint of heart. When a seemingly normal family moves from London to rural Devon, 15-year-old Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) stumbles into a shocking secret concerning his father (Ray Winstone) and 17-year-old sister, Jessie .. Read more

Starring Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Kate Ashfield, Lara Belmont
Director Tim Roth
Genres Audio Descriptive, Drama

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The War Zone

Tim Roth's directorial debut, based on the novel by Alexander Stuart (who adapted the screenplay), is not for the faint of heart. When a seemingly normal family moves from London to rural Devon, 15-year-old Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) stumbles into a shocking secret concerning his father (Ray Winstone) and 17-year-old sister, Jessie (Lara Belmont). Afraid of breaking up the family and upsetting his mother (Tilda Swinton), who has just given birth to a baby girl, he crawls into a shell and remains there, confused and alienated. Eventually, the situation boils over, and the truth is exposed. Roth shows that he has the ability to draw extremely emotional performances from Winstone and Swinton, as well as from newcomers Belmont and Cunliffe, who provide the film with its true heart. THE WAR ZONE is a brilliantly harsh and tragic family drama.

Starring Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Kate Ashfield, Lara Belmont, Freddie Cunliffe, Aisling O'Sullivan, Colin Farrell
Director Tim Roth
Studio FILM 4
Run time DVD: 1 hr 35 mins
Certificate DVD Certificate 18.gif
Genres Audio Descriptive, Drama
Language English, English Audio Description
Hearing-impaired English
Subtitles English
Released DVD: 12 May 2008
Production year: 1999
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (4) of The War Zone

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  • 3 stars out of 5

    Originally known as Deadline, this political drama stars Christopher Walken as an American reporter covering the war in Lebanon. The excellent Walken can play a cynical newshound as well as anyone, but those hoping for a Lebanese equivalent of Oliver Stone's Salvador will be sadly disappointed. The plot starts to unravel when Walken falls for nurse Marita Marschall and finds himself making news instead of simply covering it. Tighter direction would have heightened the suspense.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006
  • 1 stars out of 4

    Downbeat domestic drama, filmed in bleak colours, that works best in its portrait of traumatised adolescence; its adults are less convincing.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
    • Posted 02 Mar 2006

  • Most helpful member's review of The War Zone

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  • 32 out of 37 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    First class film

    Well acted scripted and shot

    Not the happiest of stories but one that gets its message across very well indeed another good film starring Ray Winstone

      • A customer from not where i wanna be
      • Posted 19 Oct 2004 16:32

  • Most recent members' review of The War Zone

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  • 3 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 1 star

    Boredom is Boring

    This is a film about a withdrawn boy who watches his family. They do nothing on the surface and too much under it.

    And we watch him watching them.

    A few incidents enliven the film but mostly it drags along slowly until something does happen. And then that is soon over and the family reverts to boring along.

      • johnnyL from County Antrim
      • Posted 30 Apr 2005 unknown

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      • Tim Roth's directorial debut, based on the novel by Alexander Stuart (who adapted the screenplay), is not for the faint of heart. When a seemingly normal family moves from London to rural Devon, 15-...