by josie makkink
A Private War, directed by renowned documentary-maker Matthew Heineman, follows the vivid, gripping story of celebrated war correspondent Marie Colvin in a way that leaves the audience breathless. Inspired by Marie Brenner’s Vanity Fair profile of Colvin, the film superbly captures a forceful, brilliant and complex woman who put herself on the front lines in the pursuit of truth. Pike, in an unforgettable portrayal, strips Colvin down to the raw bone.
Heineman described the film as “a psychological portrait of Marie Colvin.” The title refers as much to the privacy of the globally overlooked war-zones that Colvin repeatedly threw herself into as it does to the war that rages within Colvin herself. The scenes switch jerkily between Colvin in bullet-ridden conflict zones and the safety of her home, reflecting how she is unable to escape the horrors of war that plague her. Particularly unsettling was the rapid switching between gruesome war imagery and Colvin stripping down before sex. The grotesque nature of war intrudes on every part of her personal life, even those most intimate, making her irreparably vulnerable.
Despite elements of a typical humanist, heroine-like portrayal of Colvin, the depth to which her character is explored in the film serve to render this criticism baseless. Colvin is unapologetically flawed, and regularly pursues self-destructive behaviour by excessive smoking and drinking, as well as taking dangerous risks whilst reporting. Her pirate-like black eyepatch, earned due to the loss of an eye during a grenade bombing in Sri Lanka, contributes to the imagery of her bravery and bravado. In the end however, the audience is humbly reminded of the price there is to pay for acts of heroism. The film ends poignantly, leaving the audience subdued, with Colvin’s death in Homs, Syria, 2012 whilst reporting on the Assad’s bombing of innocent civilians.
Carefully placed light-hearted moments prevent the film from becoming weighed down in trauma. Colvin brazenly wears luxurious La Perla lingerie, explaining to her close colleague and photographer Paul Convoy (Jamie Dorman), that “If anyone digs my corpse from a trench, I want them to be impressed.” A relieving note of romance is also touched on, as Pike develops a short-lived relationship with Tony Shaw (Stanley Tucci).
Colvin, despite the frustration of her editor Sean Ryan (Tom Hollander), always returned to places of horrific tragedy. “I see it so you don’t have to,” Colvin says. In our current times of fake news and movements towards censorship, praise for the fearlessness behind Colvin’s reporting deserves much attention. Colvin’s personal story is not only one of a strong, independent and multifaceted woman, but also illuminates the struggles faced by women and children that she cared so much about. Placing her in centre stage can be seen as somewhat ironic given that she never made herself the subject of her stories, but determinedly gave voice to the voiceless. Nonetheless, Colvin’s story proves pertinent to journalists, women, and all those who value the truth.
Rating: 9/10
periodt.
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