User reviews

"A Private War" is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the "action" scenes are gripping, edge-of-the seat stuff. The theme of 'brave war reporting' is something of interest to me ever since seeing Damien Parer's WWII work. The importance of war correspondents is definitely highlighted here.

On the other hand, the whole thing just felt quite clunky and disjointed. I didn't really learn a whole lot about the conflicts Marie Colvin was reporting on. There was often context missing to scenes and this lead to a little confusion or waning interest on my behalf. Rosamund Pike delivers a strong performance though and it was enough to draw me back in.

There was also just a whole lot of stupidity going on. Sorry, but when one of Marie's colleagues said in the film: "You've got an amazing nose for a story. But you don't have a military brain" - I couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly. It was a frustrating watch at times.

It was a serviceable film though and there's enough here to hold any journalism students' attention. It's important to have journalists of Marie's calbire in our world today.

This was a film that had a tremendous amount of power. Rosamund Pike's performance was great Jamie Dorman was outstanding, as was Stanley Tucci and many of the other performances in this film.

It was a very heartfelt film about the horrors of war, and the extent to which madmen despots like Gaddafi and Assad will go to maintain their power. I'm not sure why all the dissenting reviews on this thread, it seems like an awful lot of people that were naysayers were politically motivated. Sure, I don't agree with a lot of US foreign policy, but this movie wasn't really about foreign policy, this movie was about the horror of war, this movie was about the bravery and courage of a woman who in my opinion, was near deity, for performing the work that she performed. Let's get real here, how many of the naysayers on this thread would have the guts to actually go into combat territory like she did and do what she did? Probably 2, if that. It is easy to be brave from your living room.

It is her film. Maybe, in few parts , more than Marie Colvin's. The role is generous, the story is well made and the message becomes clear. A film not about wars but about truth and cold idealism and passion and obsession of a war reporter . Realistic, interesting, subjective, off course. Short - just a good movie. And a beautiful demonstration of her artistic skills of Rosamund Pike.

A very different role for Rosamund Pike then Gone Girl or any other film she has made recently. She takes the care in embodiment of Marie Colven, trying to give her truth life. This is not an easy movie to watch, harsh scenes of war-torn countries and showing real people that have actually been effected by real tragedies. While watching I definitely felt that Matthew Heineman was trying to give the realest depiction of this story. I often felt a little underwelmed with the pacing of this movie, it flips back and forth to the past and present a little too much for me and not focusing long enough on either for the full character development. Rosamund Pike did give a great performance and Marie Colvin's story is worth watching.

Greetings again from the darkness. Marie Colvin was a (seemingly) fearless war correspondent obsessed with giving a voice to those forgotten during war. Were she alive today, she could not have hand-picked a better filmmaker than Matthew Heineman to tell her story. Director Heineman was Oscar nominated for CARTEL LAND (2014) and, combined with his CITY OF GHOSTS (2017), gives him two of the best ever documentaries that show what the front lines are like in both international wars and the equally dangerous wars being fought over drug territories. Heineman has carried his own camera directly into the center of those storms, while Ms. Colvin took her pen and pad. Simpatico.

Based on Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair article "Marie Colvin's Private War" (screenplay by Arash Amel), the film benefits from the extraordinary and courageous work of Ms. Colvin, and also a terrific performance from Rosamund Pike (words I've not previously written). Ms. Pike captures the extremes of Ms. Colvin's life - the atrocities of war and the self-prescribed treatment of her PTSD through vodka, and does so in a manner that always seems believable. She lets us in to a world most of us can't imagine.

As a war correspondent for Britain's Sunday Times (since 1986), Ms. Colvin told the stories we'd rather not know. In her words, "I saw it, so you don't have to." The film begins with a stunning overhead view of 2012 war-ravaged Homs Syria (destruction courtesy of Assad's soldiers) - a place that starts the film and later ends the story. We then flash back to 2001 London so we can witness Marie in society and struggling with a personal relationship. She then chooses, against her editor's (Tom Hollander) guidance to cover Sri Lanka. It's a decision that cost her an eye, while also providing her recognition as the eye-patch wearing female war reporter.

In 2003, a tip takes her to a previously undiscovered mass grave site in Fallujah. This is her first work alongside photographer Paul Conroy (played by Jamie Dornan). Having "seen more war than most soldiers", Ms. Colvin's severe alcoholism can't kill the nightmares, visions, and PTSD. After time in a clinic, she returns to work. We see her in 2009 Afghanistan and then pulling no punches when interviewing Libya's Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. During these assignments, we learn much about Ms. Colvin's personality and approach. She is rarely without a cigarette, admits to wearing Le Perla lingerie (and why), carries Martha Gellhorn's "The Face of War" as her field manual, and wins two British Foreign Journalist of the Year awards - though seeing her at the banquets is quite surreal.

Hollander's subtle performance as news editor Sean Ryan is also quite impressive. He fears for her safety (and even questions her sanity) but is in constant conflict with the need to sell newspapers - something Ms. Colvin's stories certainly did. Stanley Tucci has a role as Tony Shaw, her love interest, but despite her words, we never believe he and his sailboat are ever more than a distraction from her obsession with the front lines. The final sequence in 2012 Homs Syria is stunning, as is her final interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN.

Ms. Pike has altered her voice to mimic the deeper tone of Marie Colvin - her efforts confirmed in the final interview played at the film's end. It's quite a career boost for Ms. Pike, who has previously been known for playing ice queens in films like GONE GIRL. She captures the traumatized Marie, but also the obsession of someone whose DNA constantly drove her back to the stories that needed to be told.

Director Heineman's unique perspective combined with the cinematography of 3 time Oscar winner Robert Richardson (a favorite of Scorcese, Tarantino, and Oliver Stone) delivers a realism of war that we rarely see on screen. Mr. Richardson also shot SALVADOR (1986) and PLATOON (1986) and his work here surpasses both. The film gives us a glimpse at the psychological effects of such reporting, and a feel for the constant stress of being surrounded by tragedy and danger. This is fitting tribute to a courageous and very skilled woman, although I do wish the men weren't constantly helping her out of trucks and jeeps.

The film deals with war correspondent Marie Colvin (masterfully played by Rosamund Pike), she is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless. Assigned by her chief Sean Ryan (Tom Hollander) she travels to the most dangerous places on Earth, to risk her life for the truth, while constantly testing the limits between bravery and bravado. After being hit by a grenade in Sri Lanka, she wears a distinctive eye patch and is still as comfortable sipping martinis with London's elite as she is confronting dictators. Yet, her mission to show the true cost of war leads her - along with renowned war photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan)- to embark on the most perilous assignment of their lives in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. The Most Powerful Weapon is the Truth !. The greatest weapon is the truth !.

Thrilling and thorny film with fine actors regarding the world of the war correspondents. This tense and nail-biting biograpical thriller is packed with as much taut action , enjoyable message as the storyline will allow , but let down at times due to its slowness and coldness. Engaging and raw film being compellingly shot , adding some political moments and its allegedly wave flag of impartiality cannot obscure the tension dripping from every frame of such reconstructed immediacy. Stars Rosamund Pike who gives a very acting as the brave correspondent who sacrifices loving relationships -to her lover Stanley Tucci- , and over time, her personal life starts to unravel as the trauma she's witnessed takes its toll. The film follows her fruitful career with United Press International (UPI), a year after graduating from Yale. She worked for UPI first in Trenton, then New York and Washington. In 1984, Colvin was appointed Paris bureau manager for UPI, before moving to The Sunday Times in 1985. From 1986, she was the newspaper's Middle East correspondent, and then from 1995 was the Foreign Affairs correspondent. In 1986, she was the first to interview Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi after Operation El Dorado Canyon. Gaddafi said in this interview that he was at home when U. S. planes bombed Tripoli in April 1986, and that he helped rescue his wife and children while "the house was coming down around us".

The movie belongs to sub-genre that abounded in the 80s about reporters all around the world covering dangerous political conflicts , such as Indonesia in ¨The Year of Living Dangerously¨(1982) by Peter Weir with Mel Gibson , Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt ; Salvador in ¨Salvador¨ by Oliver Stone with James Woods and James Belushi, Libano in ¨Deadline¨ by Nathaliel Gutman with Christopher Walken and Hywel Bennett and Nicaragua ¨Under fire¨ (1983) shot by Roger Spottiswoode with Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy .

Adding more biographical data to those already presented in the film, these are the following: Marie Catherine Colvin ( 1956 -2012) was an American journalist who worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for the British newspaper The Sunday Times from 1985 until her death. She was one of the most prominent war correspondents of her generation, widely recognized for her extensive coverage on the frontlines of various conflicts across the globe. On February 22, 2012, while she was covering the siege of Homs alongside the French photojournalist Rémi Ochlik, the pair were killed in a targeted attack made by Syrian government forces. After her death, Stony Brook University established the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting in her honor. Her family also established the Marie Colvin Memorial Fund through the Long Island Community Foundation, which strives to give donations in Marie's name in honor of her humanitarianism. In July 2016, lawyers representing Colvin's family filed a civil action against the Syrian Arab Republic in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, claiming they had obtained proof that the Syrian government had directly ordered her assassination. In a verdict issued in 2019, the Columbia District Court found the Assad regime guilty of "extrajudicial killing", terming it as an "unconscionable crime" deliberately committed by the government, and mandated Syria to pay Colvin's family $302 million in compensation for the damages.

This is not an action film or one that glorifies war. I don't understand a lot of reviews, and with all do respect a lot of you missed the point. It is not a political film either. It is the story of a women who joined the frontlines of major wars and battles from the late 80s until her demise. It is a human story of Marie , and the PTSD she later struggled with by seeing the horrors as well as being blown up herself. It is a character driven film. It does a fine job at giving a voice to the voiceless. Showing not the fighting, but the human interactions of oppressed people during major war time. This was very good, and Rosemund Pike shines with the rest of the cast in telling this deeply moving story of a true renegade women who decided to go and see for herself and report back the true horrors of warfare and it's toll on the human beings involved. The collateral damage if you will. Very good watch , see for yourself. Don't listen to these reviewers who missed the point or possibly didn't even watch the film.

Rosamund Pike delivers a fiery performance as Marie Colvin, a war correspondent who earned a reputation as iron-willed in her commitment to war reporting even in the face of grave danger throughout the 2000s. Unfortunately, her gravelly voice cannot carry the entire film which occasionally veers off into obvious Oscar-bait territory. A handful of gripping scenes do spring up, including when she meets with Muammar Gaddafi shortly before his regime is overthrown.

But all in all, I would call this a middle-of-road biopic, one that is likely to fly under the radar and be remembered only by news junkies and anti-war activists, if anyone at all. This despite, again, a terrific effort by Pike. Not recommended.

If you watched this Prima Facie and did no background research into the "conflict" in Lybia, Syria... No mention whatsoever of the US and HRC's involvement in Gaddafi's assassination, "we came, we saw, he died" were her very words during one interview, and not with anything even remotely resembling sobriety. You also need to understand the "topple seven nations in five years" the US agreed to. Lybia, Syria, Iran, etc. Or how the US and NATO forces back ISIS, shelled Assad's people. Some 500,000+ killed by the US weapons, etc. Not anything I want to be associated with, but that was my tax dollars, and yours if you are a tax paying citizen of the US. Taking nothing away from Marie Colvin's work as a journalist, but let's be clear. Assuming the film is accurate, she received awards from her company alone; it's not like they were industry awards, recognition, etc. No, I think this was more propagandist than factual.

When i left my country I decide to not remember any thing from that hell, But today i cried like i just lost every thing, it's an amazing movie

The movie begins in 2012 Homs where Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) faces her mortality. As the premier foreign war correspondent for London's The Sunday Times, she travels to Sri Lanka in 2001 to do a story on the besieged Tamil Tigers where she loses her left eye. In 2003 Iraq, she befriends freelance photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) who would follow her in many of her reporting. She struggles with her personal life and is haunted by PTSD.

It's an admirable life and it's an admirable attempt at portraying that life by Pike. What it doesn't do is a couple of standard biopic tropes that could have helped to give her life context. It doesn't have her childhood. It doesn't have her family other than lovers and friends. It doesn't have the start of her career. It doesn't show how she got into war correspondence in the first place. Normally, a biopic would have early defining experiences which would drive that person to her journey and poetically her end. It's standard operating procedure and this movie is missing that. It does have a good sense of her PTSD. It's probably the best part of the movie. The devastation faced by the civilians is just as compelling. Her relationship with Paul could have been used as the central nexus. There is some unspoken reality between them that is left out. This biopic has its compelling moments but it's not going to be one of the greats.

The FSA are literally ISIS. There's a reason why no non-Sunni in the country supported them.

My wife and I watched this movie at home on DVD from our public library.

Marie Colvin was a real 21st century war correspondent, an American journalist working for a British news agency. She seemingly had no fear, or if she did overcame it to seek out the hottest of the hot spots and when she could, interview dictators with very pointed questions.

Rosamund (pronounced "Rozz-mund") Pike is totally terrific as Marie Colvin, pirate's eye patch and all after she lost her left eye during a raid. Unless we have been in a cave the past 20 or so years we know all the stories, all the big battles, so this movie gives us nothing new there. What it gives us is a glimpse at a driven war correspondent.

The title is significant, "my private war" is a reference to what is going on inside Colvin, what drives her, what makes her put herself and her photographer in the middle of dangerous war zones? We don't quite get the answer clearly but that is what we should be focused on.

Good movie, Pike is very believable. The very end of the movie has a clip of the real Marie Colvin.

A private war so you can't tell if it was real or not, but about libyan event i don't think all of it was real because i'm libyan person, but the other story it seems real because there is evidence. as a movie it was boring it's not something massive as the name of the movie.

"War is the quiet bravery of the civilians who would endure far more than I ever will"

• Marie Colvin, the most celebrated war correspondent

The trauma that she witnesses, the personal toll that it takes, a high society elite who has the audacity to stand tall and beard the most notorious dictators, who constantly faces her own personal demons and still sets new limits to bravery and being tested for bravado. Whether it's Sri Lanka or Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria.. the war counts the ones at the front but sometimes casts aside the civilians ... the peaceful uprising in Syria that turned into a genocide as President Assad ordered bombing innocent civilians tagging them as terrorists!!! How could one at such inhumane times continue believing in humanity!!!! True story, biopic of a combat-journalism rock star. Hard reporting infused with humanity that would tug your heartstrings. . A gritty unflinching screenplay. Commendable performance by Rosamund Pike.

"A Private War" (2018 release; 110 min.) is a bio-pic about war correspondent Marie Colvin. As the movie opens, we are informed that Colvin began her career as a war correspondent for the Sunday Times in 1986. We then shift to "London, England 200" where she is seen fooling around, and then arguing, with her once (and future) husband. It's not long before Colvin is off to Sri Lanka to investigate an "unreported" war. In an unfortunate incident, Colvin is badly hurt and she loses sight in her left eye altogether, leaving her to wear an eye patch going forward, "just like a pirate" she mocks. Then by 2003, Colvin is off to Iraq... At this point we are 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing area, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from director Matthew Heineman, best known for his outstanding (and Oscar-nominated) documentaries "Cartel Land" and "City of Ghosts". While "A Private War" is not a documentary, it certainly has the feel of one, as Heineman brings us, matter of factly, what is was like to be a woman reporting on the worst of mankind, going in war zones where she was not wanted. "I am compelled", she remarks more than once when asked why she is doing what she's doing. She focuses on the true victims: women and children, the sick and the poor, the homeless and the starving. The movie is staged impressively as we witness many battle scenes and look in astonishment as Colvin dodges bullets buzzing by. But none of that would matter if it weren't for the convincing performance by Rosamund Pike, who looks quite a bit older in this role as compared to her actual age. This is the type of role that Hollywood typically loves to embrace and recognize, and I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Pike will get an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Last but not least, couldn't help but notice the wonderful new tune "Requiem for a Private War", by Annie Lennox (it plays over the movie's closing credits).

"A Private War" premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival to positive acclaim. The Sunday matinee screening where I saw this at this weekend was attended poorly (3 people, including myself). Frankly, I don't see this playing in theaters very long. For that, the movie is simply too heavy and downbeat, even with Rosamund Pike's wonderful lead performance. But that doesn't mean this is not a good movie, far from it. I quite enjoyed it (insofar one can really "enjoy" heavy dramas like this). If you have an interest in what life is like for war correspondents in this day and age, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

There's no doubt about it that A Private war is powerful, but it goes beyond that, more than often we're presented with the humanitarian suffering of it, much like what the actual Marie Colvin sought after, it is heartbreaking to witness what happened in the regions that she visited, words will not do it justice, so here we are offered an insight through the Biopic of if I may say a badass brave woman that did more for the oppressed than world leaders did, although the film did pretty well in capturing her struggles throughout her career and immense bravery, I felt like we didn't get the full effect of it, not that is the fault of the makers of the film, because to capture such a story in one film is damn near impossible, therefore, I felt like they did their best, what I noticed and I was quite happy about is that the film didn't dip its fingers in the political side of it, it's more or less covered the suffering of the people and frankly that's the important thing.

With biopics like these it's usually a hit or miss, here I felt like there was more to tell but considering the large scale of the story I'd say they did a pretty good job of covering the basics of Marie Cloving amazing heroism and sacrifice

Marie Colvin was a truly courageous and inspirational person, one of the most courageous and inspirational people of her time perhaps, with a story that should be known and told more. It's one that resonated with me reading of it and despite not going through anywhere near as much as Colvin did (despite having a lifelong rough time myself) it was very easy to relate to her and root for her cause all the way. The trailer also looked great and Rosamund Pike has impressed me a number of times previous.

Despite 'A Private War' being critically well received and Pike's performance being pretty much universally acclaimed, when finally released in my country it was criminally and shamefully underseen with hardly any advertising and a limited cinema release (the few cinemas that did show it had screenings at inaccessible times). Much more than this incredible woman and her story deserved and for the film to get this treatment is an injustice. Finally seeing it a few days ago, it was well worth the wait because while not perfect 'A Private War' was a powerful experience. Actually felt it treated Colvin and her story with respect and subjectively feel that some of the criticisms it's garnered here are unfair and over-the-top to the point of disrespect.

'A Private War' is not perfect. There are time jumps back and forth that can feel rather jumpy and rushed, so it's a little disjointed at times.

Stanley Tucci is far too underused in a very underwritten part, Tucci plays it well and gives it a good bash but it is hard to do more with limited screen time, a sketchily developed character and some of the film's more clunky dialogue.

However, 'A Private War' has a lot working in its favour. The production values are both beautiful and grittily unforgiving, with editing that really adds to the increasingly hard-hitting authenticity and a striking wide variety of camera shots that don't give the impression of being too clever or showing off, instead doing what the editing excels in. Matthew Heinemann directs with enough momentum and breathing space with no visual self-indulgence at the same time, especially good in the latter stages. The music is used in the appropriate places, recorded without being too loud and has the right amount of unsettlement. Am surprised that hardly anybody has mentioned Annie Lennox's Golden Globe-nominated original song "Requiem for a Private War", truly haunting stuff.

Other than some melodramatic moments, the script is thought-probing and poignant and one feels constant admiration for Colvin. While the back and forth structure was flawed, the story still continued to grip and the film does deserve credit for not trivialising the subject. It actually pulls no punches and is not an easy watch (both her bleak personal life and the job), doing so in a harrowing way and it had me emotionally drained by the end, more so than most films seen recently. Did not feel 'A Private War' glorified Colvin or villified anybody else, and thought a difficult story was treated with respect.

Have a lot of praise for the cast too. Jamie Dornan shows that in the right role with good writing he can be good, a very deeply felt performance, while Tom Hollander is also very good. 'A Private War' though belongs to Pike, who is absolutely exceptional as Colvin, one of the best of the year in my view, and it is a mystery that she didn't get more awards attention. Giving a lead performance as fearless and intensely committed as Colvin herself, doing it while disappearing into the role and becoming her and not being an impersonation, have always liked her a lot but her performance is is on the same level as her unforgettable turn in 'Gone Girl' in its own way.

In conclusion, very well done film though a hard watch. To be seen mainly for Pike. 8/10

For people with no previous knowledge, this film is just another brainwashing of the American government. For people who have dealt with the wars of the Americans and know why the Americans invaded Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, this film is just a joke. This film deserves at most one star and that because it shows the suffering that was going on in the countries, but only the bad dictators of the countries are to blame for these acts. The American soldiers are of course always friends and helpers of the people and we continue to believe in Santa Claus.

Colvin's story was compelling, but Pike's performance didn't feel authentic. It was forced and at times she struggled with her attempts at an American accent.

In every other film she has shined, just not with this one.

All cinematic characteristics covered in "A Private War" were good except for the most important part, which is the credibility of the story. I can't claim that the stories covered by "Mary" in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan were false or phony, but I am 100 % sure that what she said about Syria was a distortion and biased and unethical. Especially that statement during her broadcasting with CNN, and telling lies about the nature of the conflict, picturing it as if the Syrian president was sending the army to kill children, which is typically the method was used to direct audience consciousness towards an emotional issue away from the intrinsic truth, that the terrorists used families as human shields. Note that western media insisted on using phrases like "Assad Army" to implant a false idea in the audience conscious that this is Assad's war against civilians using a merciless army under his command, while it was actually a horrible war against thugs and criminals and later against Al qaeda and ISIS. I personally lived in that city and I can assure that what "Mary" said was her biased point of view, affected by the place she was reporting from, and she didn't bother to move to the other side of the city to see how we were taken hostages by the opposition gangs who later in 2012 took our neighborhood, my home, kidnaped my closest friend, choked him with a metal wire with cold blood and claimed that the regime was responsible. Only a terrorist or a "Moslem Brotherhood member" or any other radical moslm will support and believe her story. May her soul rest in peace.