The War Zone (1999)
7/10
dark disturbing story
14 August 2015
Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) is bitter at the family being moved from London to rural Devon. His dad (Ray Winstone) crashes the car taking his pregnant mum (Tilda Swinton) to the hospital. She has a baby girl. Tom accuses his older sister Jessie (Lara Belmont) of having sex with their father which she denies. Colin Farrell plays local boy Nick who takes a fancy to Jessie.

This is a dark disturbing story of incest and the conflicting blame that occurs. It's Tim Roth's directorial debut. He tries to make this a quiet moody film. The extended desolate landscape scenes are fine but I don't like quietly waiting for the actors to speak. I also don't like the Tom character although I grow to accept him. I'm not impressed with Cunliffe's performance but it could very well be his character. On the other hand, Lara Belmont is compelling. The final act is terrific with Ray Winstone acting up a storm. On a side note, Farrell's role is rather small. This is a disturbing compelling movie despite a slow start.
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