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The War Zone

The War Zone

Drama · 1999

An alienated teenager, saddened that he has moved away from London, must find a way to deal with a dark family secret.

Movie details

The War Zone

“When the worst of men hides in a family with no history.”

1999 Drama 1h 38m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

An alienated teenager, saddened that he has moved away from London, must find a way to deal with a dark family secret.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The War Zone?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Cement Garden

The Cement Garden

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After the death of her husband, the mother of Julie, Jack, Sue and Tom begins to suffer from a mysterious illness. Aware that she is going to have to go into hospital she opens a bank account for the children, so that they can be financially self-sufficient and will be able to avoid being taken into care by the authorities. Unfortunately she also dies and Julie and Jack (the older, teenage children) decide to hide her body in the basement so that they can have free reign of their household. Soon Tom has taken to dressing as a girl whilst Sue has become increasingly reticent, confiding only to her diary, meanwhile Jack and Julie sense an attraction developing for each other. However Julie's new beau, Derek, threatens to unearth the many dark secrets within this family as he becomes increasingly suspicious of Jack.

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Shame

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Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.

Mammal

Mammal

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After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.

Pimp

Pimp

Drama · 2018

An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.

Calm with Horses

Calm with Horses

Crime · 2020

In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm's loyalties are truly tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.

Ill Manors

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Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.

Snowtown

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The Long Riders

The Long Riders

Western · 1980

The origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.

Trainspotting

Trainspotting

Drama · 1996

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Tim Roth

Written by

Alexander Stuart

Freddie Cunliffe

Freddie Cunliffe

Tom

Lara Belmont

Lara Belmont

Jessie

Ray Winstone

Ray Winstone

Dad

Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton

Mum

Kate Ashfield

Kate Ashfield

Lucy

Aisling O'Sullivan

Aisling O'Sullivan

Carol

M

Megan Thorp

Baby Alice

Court is in session

Put The War Zone on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.