A Private War (2018)

Film: A Private War (2018)
Stars: Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hollander
Director: Matthew Heineman
Oscar History: Pike, as well as songwriter Annie Lennox, won surprise Golden Globe nominations for the film, but that didn't seem to catch on at all with AMPAS & didn't go any further.
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

Rosamund Pike was wonderful in 2014's Gone Girl, a film that launched her into popular culture and into the public consciousness, but her years since have been a bit drab, seemingly making the same socially-conscious biopic over-and-over-again.  I see a lot of movies, and somehow have missed all of her films since (I nearly caught Hostiles last year as its Oscar campaign was beginning to heat up, but it missed and so did I since it's not my cup-of-tea).  As a result, this was the first time since she was cited for her Oscar nomination (a nomination I echoed at my own awards that year) that I caught her work, and though it felt a bit like a "medicine viewing" (my brother and I have nicknamed movies you don't want to see but are awards contenders as "medicine" movies), I wanted it to be good-I was just surprised when it was.  This film is proof when I say "I like all genres, because all genres are capable of making good movies" even if frequently something like a socially-conscious biopic struggles to have anything original to say in its writing or acting.  Thankfully Pike has lost none of her ability when it comes to navigating "complicated" women, and Heineman (a first-time director) exhibits an ease in creating compelling drama even with familiar story beats.

(Real Life Doesn't Need Spoilers, Though Unless You Read Vanity Fair This May Be a New Story to You) The film follows legendary foreign affairs correspondent Marie Colvin (Pike) as she works her way through some of the most hellish war fields on earth; Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and of course Syria all feature as headlines as we work through Marie's quest to show the world the worst parts of humanity, in hopes of alleviating the victims' pain.  In light of the recent death of Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of the Saudi Royal Family (and the denial of President Trump that this occurred), it must be noted that this film could not be more timely.  Colvin was noted as being a journalist who took great risks to get the best story, which is why she was so well-celebrated in her field, and unfortunately is a big part of why she is no longer alive.  For most American people, they probably best remember her (if they do at all in the United States) for being one of the fellow journalists who sat alongside Christiane Amanpour when she interviewed Muammar Gaddafi a year before he was killed during the Libyan Uprise, or for her interviews with multiple news organizations (including CNN's Anderson Cooper) during the Siege of Homs, during which she ended up losing her life.

While Amanpour isn't a major part of the film, the generosity and lack of ego that was a signature of Colvin's quest for the truth was.  It was noted in her death that most other journalists, when given the chance to interview Gaddafi, would have balked at the idea of sharing the stage with two of their peers, particularly one so internationally well-known as Amanpour (due to her decades of television exposure), but Colvin wanted the story to reach as many people as possible, and didn't seem to care if she had to share the spotlight, because the spotlight was the story.  It's fascinating to see that play out in real time in a biopic, which is by-its-nature focused on telling the story of Colvin herself.  We see in Pike's determination and drive someone who slowly loses vanity or a sense of self-preservation (I love that we didn't have to have a big scene when she stopped wearing the eye patch, that it just happened & you understood why), that she needs to keep pushing out more truth, finding a way to end this madness.  There is fear in her eyes and in her voice, but she overcomes it, and that's a great testament to Pike that her performance underlines this point in a way lesser actors would have needed the script to spell out.

While dealing with addiction is something we've seen countless times onscreen, and there are moments where the film comes dangerously close to formulaic when it deals with Colvin's (the character-not sure about her in real life) issues with alcohol and trauma, for the most part Pike's performance sidesteps this by focusing on her true addiction: to war.  So often when we see successful historic figures, the "genius" of their work comes from within & not hard work, and it's their own personal foibles that tear down their opportunities to continue that greatness, but that's not how life works.  You don't stop being brilliant because you're also dealing with your own personal demons, and the film smartly keeps "Colvin the Journalist" as savvy, sharp, and bold as she was in real life, while showing that her foundation is slipping away as she feels the need to go bigger.  Pike's work here is truly terrific, a spellbindingly accurate depiction of Colvin (getting the voice down flawlessly), but it's in finding the complicated, smart woman underneath that she really earns that Golden Globe nomination, and why I suspect that if enough people see it she'll be the surprise Oscar nominee of the season, as it's completely up AMPAS's alley.  This is tough work to not lean into the character's more colorful attributes to get more "ACTING" in, but Pike plays it cool, delivering great soliloquies and finding the passionate person at the center of the film.  Aided by good work from Jamie Dornan as Paul Conroy, Colvin's longtime photographer, this is a strong debut for a director who was saddled with one of the most cliched film genres in the market today, and I'm excited to see what happens next for Heineman.  As for Pike, she continues to show the promise she exhibited in Gone Girl, even though this film's low key nature is arguably keeping her from becoming a household name in the way her previous blockbuster seemed to intend.