Drama

The War Zone

Portobello Pictures

Fandango

Mikado Film

Film4 Productions

Italy

United Kingdom

English

Freddie Cunliffe

Lara Belmont

Ray Winstone

Tilda Swinton

Kate Ashfield

Aisling O'Sullivan

Megan Thorp

Colin Farrell

Kim Wall

Annabelle Apsion

Tim Roth

Alexander Stuart

Eric Abraham

Michael Carlin

Seamus McGarvey

Sarah Radclyffe

Simon Boswell

Dixie Linder

Steve Butterworth

Sharon Howard-Field

Jina Jay

Trevor Waite

Liz Griffiths

Susanna Lenton

Karen Wakefield

Ivana Primorac

Mary-Jane Reyner

Patricia Dobson

Lee Walters

Darkness in Devon.

Tim Roth dons the directing hat for the first time and brings to the screen a shattering tale of incest and child abuse. Alexander Stuart adapts from his own novel and it stars Ray Winstone, Lara Belmont, Freddie Cunliffe and Tilda Swinton. Story is about a family who have moved from London to the Devonshire coast. The son, Tom, is unhappy and feels alienated in the new surroundings, but when he discovers a dark family secret, things become much much worse.

It's an uncomfortable viewing experience at times, making it a film you don't readily recommend, but Roth's approach to the story gives out a powerful message without exploitation or sermonising. The script is deliberately taut and sparse, while the marrying up of the crashing waves and jagged rocks of the locale with the emotional turmoil is a deft piece of directing. The use of newcomers Belmont and Cunliffe add a potent sense of realism to the whole thing, aided no end by an intelligent screenplay that doesn't go for conventionality. Quite simply it's an unforgettable film, a claustrophobic emotional battering ram of celluloid. 9/10

The War Zone (1999) | Trailer | Film4

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The War Zone

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Cast

Freddie Cunliffe

Lara Belmont

Ray Winstone

Tilda Swinton

Kate Ashfield

Aisling O'Sullivan

Megan Thorp

Colin Farrell

Kim Wall

Annabelle Apsion

Box office

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