A Private War (2018)

Director: Mattew Heineman
Stars: Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci
Runtime: 110 minutes

Synopsis: One of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, Marie Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontline of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless.

Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Costumes/Makeup: 8/10
Editing: 5/10
Cinematography: 5/10
Score/Soundtrack: 6/10

Verdict: Marie Colvin. Not nearly enough people, including me before watching "A Private War", are familiar with that name to which I now associate honesty, courage, and just plain badassery.

The journalist's story of covering war stories mainly in the Middle East is elevated by a terrific performance by Rosamund Pike in her best role since David Fincher's "Gone Girl". Pike captured the journalist's inner demons in a sincere, profound way that definitely was the highlight of a movie that otherwise didn't entirely live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, the biography does a more than decent job at telling the journalist's story, balancing her private life and life-threatening job in order to truly deliver a full character study. My issues rather lie with the film's bland technical aspects as well as its at times chaotic script. The dialogue never felt as genuine as Pike's performance, which unfortunately affected my investment in the narrative. The film's pacing was also all over the place, as were a few underdeveloped plot points.

"A Private War", nevertheless, is still worth checking out for two main reasons: Rosamund Pike's performance and Marie Colvin's story. A special mention also goes to Annie Lennox's hauntingly mesmerizing Golden Globe-nominated "Requiem For A Private War" featured at the end of the movie, which I highly recommend  you listen to if you haven't.

FINAL GRADE: 6/10