A Private War Review - The Battle Within

“You know, Marie, you see things so that the rest of the world doesn’t need to.” This is what a character in A Private War says to the protagonist, Marie Colvin. Marie is a war correspondent who has just come back from covering the civil war in Libya. She has bouts of PTSD, and when she informs the editor of the Sunday Times that she just doesn’t feel like writing anymore, he says this to her. Watching Rosamund Pike’s response to that statement is a thing of beauty, much like the film itself.

Ironic, because much in A Private War made me shut my eyes. The film is overly gory, to a point where it is unnecessary. We see broken ribs, bleeding arms, legs and even a blown up face. So beware - this isn’t a film for the faint-hearted. But the etched narrative, the tapestry of emotions and that stellar performance are things of magnificent beauty. Director Matthew Heineman, working off a script by Amash Amel constructs a picture of a broken woman as she travels across broken countries.

There’s not one shot in which there is something pretty to be seen. Even in the scenes where Marie attends her friends’ social gatherings, there is always a darkness that quietly ebbs. It comes to the forefront when one of Marie’s friends asks her when she became an alcoholic. It is at this exact point that Heineman starts telling the story he wants to tell. Colvin feels no pain, as much as she wants to. We see her, watching unfazed as children die in war-ridden zones. Her eyes are glassy, but she can’t afford an outburst. Not in the profession she’s in.

The film also drives home the sacrifices made by journalists when they are in positions such as this. In a masterful sequence, Marie tells her colleague, Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) how everything is against her. The script is written in such a way that you not only feel Marie’s pain, but you sympathise with her, and watch with bated breath - really hoping that this ends well. But, you and I both know that it cannot. The majority of the action is a before and after of what took place in Homs, Syria in 2012 where Marie, while covering a story on the Syrian civil war, was killed in action.

Aiding the film is its brilliant plethora of supporting actors. Jamie Dornan as Paul is restrained and better in the quieter scenes. With his camera hung around his neck, Dornan’s eyes capture a lifetime of frustration. In fact, my favourite scenes in the film involve those in a war-ridden zone where Paul and Marie have a deep conversation about the complexities of life, as bombs inch closer and closer to their shelter. He may have fewer scenes but he creates maximum impact. Also good is Stanley Tucci, who unfortunately doesn’t have much to do here.

His character is introduced right at the point when the narrative hits its highest point, and so, he’s shipped off to the sidelines for the most part, watching CNN live coverage nervously. But, Tom Hollander, playing Marie’s gruff boss, Sean, is spectacular to watch. He’s blunt, real and asks all the wrong questions. Hollander charges the narrative with a feeling of rawness, and he aides Pike and Dornan, even though he has very little to do since most of the action of the film takes place on the field itself.

And in the centre of it all is Rosamund Pike, rocking that eye patch like it is nobody’s business. Marie is heavily unlikable, but Rosamund makes her into somebody we could know. She’s especially excellent in the scenes that portray Marie’s downward spiral and her bouts of PTSD. It’s a self-assured performance and the film truly flies when we get to know this character. We see her in war zones, scared one minute and laughing the next. But, we truly get to know her, when she’s alone with a vodka martini in her hand. Without Pike, A Private War would been a monumentally lesser film, even bordering on shallow and superficial - the worst things you can use to describe a biographical drama.

So, watch A Private War. It’s gory and bloody, but it’s very realistic. Its relevant narrative is inhabited by supremely likeable actors, whose infectious energy rubs off on the script too. It has its soft spots, and it winds a little too often, but it’s brilliant cinema and it tells a story of a brave woman, that has been hidden too long.

A Private War is more about the battle inside the woman, not the woman inside the battle. It’s rousing cinema.