How valuable is it to not just find a friend who has your back...but also be able to spend time both working...and not?
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(Hopefully by this point you’ve finished all 110 minutes of 'A Private War’, the kind of person who isn’t bothered by spoilers, or are just deciding if you still want to keep watching.)
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I had no idea what I was expecting. Maybe I was influenced by memories of ‘Hotel Rwanda‘ or maybe the look of the poster for the film: Marie about to be driven to safety (I’m just guessing was before they arrived at Homs) with an automatic rifle in the foreground.
Was I expecting Rosamund Pike to be some sort of a freedom fighter? Again...I was going at this film ‘cold’...without knowing specifically what the story the film would focus on. I had a bit of an idea when Rosamund and Jamie popped in an episode of ‘The Graham Norton Show’
..It might be because of the tone of the Film....but it had successfully made me on edge every minute. There was the thread of the MA stuff ....there's also the flash backs...and flash forwards.
None of that matters though...because...it’s a masterpiece. At 40:55 Paul tells Marie that the reason she keeps returning to war zones is because there is an addiction to it. But then later.... during her conversation with Sean...we find out that it might not be the case.
What I'm not crazy about: The nudity.
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HIGHLIGHTS:
(22:27) - Marie mentioning that she's an aid worker and using her gym card as proof.
(37:50) - Marie clearing up to Paul what the photo is
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INT. TREATMENT CENTRE (PRIVATE ROOM) - DAY
MARIE is standing next to the window, smoking, while looking out at the grounds below. Other patients walk around.
PAUL
(OS)
Thanks for letting me come and visit.
He walks around and surveys the content of the room. A white board with a schedule of activities, a painting of a wintry scene, and a TV.
He looks at her...trying to find how to start things.
PAUL
If you're not ------- crazy when you come into a place like this, you definitely will be if you get out.
MARIE turns to him for a moment then continues to work on her cigarette. The black eye-patch is present.
A group of photos catches PAUL's eye. He picks up one of the frames.
PAUL
So, is this where you grow up?
He shows her the photo.
MARIE turns and nods.
MARIE
Mmm. Yeah, that's the north shore of Long Island. Oyster Bay.
She turns to the window and takes another drag.
PAUL nods and looks at the other photos.
MARIE
Not the ritzy part.
He picks up another one and shows it. It's a dark haired man (40's) with a mustache wearing a suit and tie.
PAUL
Who's this?
He studies it.
PAUL
Your boyfriend?
MARIE turns and looks at the photo.
MARIE
No, that's creepy. That's my dad.
PAUL
Oh.
He sets the photo down.
PAUL
Sorry.
Picking one of the armchairs, he sits and turns to her.
PAUL
Marie...
She makes her way to the opposite one...
PAUL
...when bad ---- happens, your brain goes into shock.
...and sits.
PAUL
It, it locks the trauma in the same place you process emotions, which isn't where memories are meant to live.
Another inhale of the cigarette.
PAUL
That's why it feels so present.
MARIE
Is that why you left the army?
She looks at him with her tired eyes.
PAUL
No. I was court-martialed. Planted some hasish in my locket to get out.
He smiles and laughs.
MARIE leans back and crosses her arms.
MARIE
How long did it take you to get better?
PAUL
A long bloody time.
They share a moment. Nodding. It's the reality they have to both embrace.
PAUL
Marie, you've seen more war than most soldiers. You have to take it seriously.
She nods mechanically and takes a sharp breath.
MARIE
You want psycho babble?
PAUL shrugs.
MARIE
All right, I'll give it to you, I...
She points to the photo.
MARIE
...really looked up to my father. I was tormented when he died. Because he never understood the fact that I might have opinions of my own.
PAUL pops a cigarette in his mouth and moves to light it.
MARIE
I love my mother, but I struggle with her because I can never be the suburban housewife in the safe ------- life.
PAUL takes a drag.
MARIE
I diet fiercely because I don't wanna get fat, but I also have seen so many people in the world go hungry so I...I like to eat.
She gives him a weak smile.
MARIE
I um....I wanna be a mom, like my sister, but I've had two miscarriages and I have to accept the fact that I might never be that.
She tries to keep the tears at bay.
MARIE
I fear growing old.
No success as one escapes. A finger picks it up.
MARIE
But then I also fear dying young.
A beat. The problem with sharing...is that...usually...it's a flood.
MARIE
I'm most happy with a vodka Martini in my hand, but I can't...
She tries to find the right words.
MARIE
...stand the fact that the chatter in my head won't go quiet until there's a quart of vodka inside me.
She looks at him earnestly.
MARIE
I hate being in a war zone. But I also feel compelled, compelled to see it for myself.
Paul nods.
PAUL
Because you're addicted to it.
Is she? Maybe. No sense in debating it if the evidence points to that conclusion.
MARIE chuckles and takes another drag.
She shakes her head...trying to hold back emotion...but it's out now...flowing. Leaning forward and opening up her arms...she accepts the deep hug.
They stand holding each other. PAUL soothes her.
PAUL
You're all right.
MARIE weeps.
PAUL
Hey. Hey. You're all right.
MARIE lets go of him and they sit back down.
She chuckles.
MARIE
Sorry.
Another drag.
PAUL
It's all right.
MARIE
Mmm. Mmm.
PAUL
It's allowed.
MARIE laughs and takes another drag. She studies the picture of her father.
A Private War suitably honors Marie Colvin and by extension, all journalists who put their lives on the line. It contains a phenomenal performance by Rosamund Pike, who is unrecognizable, even if you know it’s her. Whether you'll be engaging in its story is difficult to say.
Based on a true story, Marie Colvin (Pike) is a foreign affairs correspondent specializing in covering news reports in high-conflict areas in the Middle-East. The film follows her career through a number of important discoveries until the fateful day in Homs, Syria in February 2012.
You will leave A Private War with nothing but admiration for Marie Colvin - both the character and the real-life person. Few people would commit to any cause the way she does. She never compromises a story for her own safety, understanding fully that any discomfort she might experience is a small price to pay for the guilty accountable for their crimes. You catch glimpses of the stories that land her name on the front page of The Sunday Times and they make you shiver. If those headlines didn’t spell out her level of fortitude, then the time she loses an eye and decides to go right back into the fray does. Rosamund Pike does an excellent job portraying this woman who, as many of her close ones point out, has done so much, has paid her dues. No one would blame her for “retiring” to a safer place. Haunted by memories of the atrocities she’s witnessed, she nevertheless returns to the front lines.
While the protagonist is terrific, the plot’s structure leaves some to be desired. The film spans a large amount of time and with every fast-forward jump, we’re reminded this is taking place X years before Homs. It doesn’t take a mind-reader to deduce what is going to happen in 2012. This robs the film of much tension. Although even a tiny bit of research would reveal to you what happened to Colvin and her choice photographer, Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) but this isn’t a documentary and I think many will go in not knowing. While the picture blitzes through important stories that led her to Homs, it feels rushed. You wish the picture would give you more details on what she saw as ultimately, it attempts to balance too many plates when every one of these headline-making events is added to the side characters and her personal relationships.
Inspired by the Vanity Fair article Marie Colvin’s Private War, this film by Matthew Heineman is good but not great. You get a glimpse at Marie Colvin’s life but not the full picture. Even so, this character-driven drama gets you to understand who she was and why she made an impact and for the lead performance, it's worth seeing. (Theatrical version on the big screen, December 1, 2018)
Butterfly pulled in me from the opening scene, but it isn't just about espionage. It's messy family ties with fast-paced, and high-stakes spy games.
#ButterflyOnPrime #Thriller #SpyDrama #TVReview
Read my full #SeasonReview here
