"It leaves you mostly silent,somewhat from subject matter and also ambiguity"
"The War Zone" is apposite to the sub-genre of incestual films. Like the majority of these types of films, the mood of the viewing is not necessarily that of comfortable.Actor Tim Roth takes a turn as director for "The War Zone," and he approaches it very much in the fashion of Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan: a quiet and subtle approach. But whereas Roth displays a strength in the subject matter he's working with, he doesn't display the control that Egoyan exhibits by putting a spell over his audience. Instead, there's always an acute awareness of all the inner workings. Roth is not strong enough to properly go about the material (adapted from his own novel by Alexander Stuart), and its overall presentation is not a strategic reverie. Just a reticent outcry. Incest is a serious issue, and it is not usually correctly handled on screen, as seen with the awful 1981 version of "Butterfly" (directed by Matt Cimber, with the Golden Globe-bought performance of Pia Zadora). Nothing has the wrenching effect that this taboo should have, ergo losing the possible provocation, but is instead reaffirmed by the haunting performance of Lara Belmont. Belmont's muliebritic and calm approach is very much like that of Sarah Polley's. Beyond the effortless pulchritude of Belmont, her sedate embodiment is apt to giving "The War Zone" a reason to propel. Seamus McGarvey's camera is in love with her fair, pale skin and sanguine cheeks, and the perfect, crisp images --interior and exterior-- complete "The War Zone" with its hushed, hidden and secluded perception. Another benefit to the unfaked awkwardness was the casting of Freddie Cunliffe as Belmont's younger brother, who discovers the relationship between her and their father. The seemingly naivete and realisticness as a person adds to the uneasy atmosphere.Final Verdict: B-.
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