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critics consensus

A Private War honors its real-life subject with a sober appraisal of the sacrifices required of journalists on the front lines - and career-best work by Rosamund Pike. Read critic reviews

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Movie Info

Celebrated war correspondent Marie Colvin is a woman who is as comfortable downing martinis with high society's elite as she is brazenly staring down warlords and fleeing from gunfire. Driven by an enduring desire to bear witness and give voice to the voiceless, Colvin charges into danger, constantly testing the limits between bravery and bravado.
  • Rating:
    R (Disturbing Violent Images|Brief Sexuality/Nudity|Language Throughout)
  • Genre:
    biography, drama, war
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Matthew Heineman
  • Producer:
    Basil Iwanyk, Marissa McMahon, Matthew George, Matthew Heineman, Charlize Theron
  • Writer:
    Arash Amel
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $1.6M
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    Denver and Delilah Productions, Kamala Films, Savvy Media Holdings, Thunder Road Pictures
  • Aspect Ratio:
    Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Rosamund Pike
Marie Colvin
Jamie Dornan
Paul Conroy
Tom Hollander
Sean Ryan
Stanley Tucci
Tony Shaw
Jérémie Laheurte
Remi Ochlik
Hilton McRae
Adam Watkins
Fady Elsayed
Mourad
Raad Rawi
Gaddafi
Matthew Heineman
Director
Arash Amel
Screenwriter
Basil Iwanyk
Producer
Marissa McMahon
Producer
Matthew George
Producer
Matthew Heineman
Producer
Charlize Theron
Producer
Erica Lee
Executive Producer
Jonathan Fuhrman
Executive Producer
Ashley Schlaifer
Executive Producer
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News & Interviews for A Private War

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Critic Reviews for A Private War

All Critics (144) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (127) | Rotten (17)

  • While Rosamund Pike delivers an unbeatable portrayal of Colvin, the film itself fails to say anything new about addiction or the demons she battles.

    February 22, 2020 | Full Review…

    Cody Corrall

    Chicago Reader

  • Poor, gifted Rosamund Pike is persuaded to play the American-born Sunday Times journo at full throttle, when half-throttle would be a nice occasional variant.

    February 20, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Nigel Andrews

    Financial Times

  • At a time when pressured media budgets are conspiring, with the general preference for escapism over reality, to threaten war reporting's very existence, A Private War unflinchingly reminds us of its value.

    February 17, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Matthew Norman

    London Evening Standard

  • [An] impassioned if occasionally contrived drama...

    February 17, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Mark Kermode

    Observer (UK)

  • I can only say, with confidence, that the film features a magnificently fierce, alert and impassioned performance from Rosamund Pike, whose usual English rose delicacy is nowhere to be seen. It is top work, properly.

    February 14, 2019 | Full Review…

    Deborah Ross

    The Spectator

  • Its grindingly earnest tone is that of the hasty posthumous tribute, rather than the more textured, inquiring long view of a worthwhile biopic.

    February 14, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Robbie Collin

    Daily Telegraph (UK)
View All Critic Reviews (144)

Audience Reviews for A Private War

  • Jul 29, 2019
    A Private War is gritty and raw character drama about Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin. The film follows the last ten years of Colvin's life reporting on conflicts in Sri Lonka, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, along with her struggles with PTSD and substance abuse. Rosamund Pike gives an incredible performance, really transforming herself into her character. However, the script is rather weak and doesn't do a particularly good job at getting at what drove her to do the work she did, or chose the places she did, or what made her voice unique from others. Yet while it has some weaknesses, A Private War is a powerful and provocative film about the life of a war correspondent.
    Dann M Super Reviewer
  • Feb 06, 2019
    Pike is great, but the movie never coalesces around a coherent idea of who Colvin really was outside of vague ponderings about her wanting to do good and something about trauma. One feels that the real Colvin deserved something better.
    Alec B Super Reviewer
  • Jan 15, 2019
    A PRIVATE WAR (3 1/2 Stars) It's nice to see a fierce woman at the center of the familiar journalist in a war zone story, and Rosamund Pike's unsparingly aggressive performance as Marie Colvin, a BBC correspondent who lost an eye and wore a patch, makes her a "Fifth Estate Pirate" for the ages. This true portrayal of a woman whose outrage led her into deadly conflicts may seem like a lot of typing at computer screens, smoking, and fighting with editors to let her get into increasingly dangerous situations, but this urgently directed film wants to shake us out of our selfie-culture complacency and ask ourselves if we would be anywhere as ballsy and brave as Marie. Jamie Dornan surprises with an earthy, edgy performance as her photographer, reminding us that he has more than 50 shades to him. It's an imperfect film, episodic but impactful, but Pike is the real show, literally and figuratively exposing us to a woman whose imperfections were matched by her passion and heroism.
    Glenn G Super Reviewer
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