The War at Home

1996

Action / Drama

15
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 75% · 15 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 75% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.0/10 10 2717 2.7K

Plot summary

Jeremy Collier is a Vietnam veteran who has returned home and is struggling to cope with the war experiences that haunt him. He is also at odds with his family, who cannot begin to understand what he has been through. Jeremy's battles with his family finally spiral out of control on Thanksgiving Day, when a bitter secret is revealed

Director

Emilio Estevez Photo
Emilio Estevez

Top cast

Carla Gugino Photo
Carla Gugino as Melissa
Kathy Bates Photo
Kathy Bates as Maurine Collier
Martin Sheen Photo
Martin Sheen as Bob Collier
Emilio Estevez Photo
Emilio Estevez as Jeremy Collier
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.04 GB
1280*544
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 1
1.9 GB
1920*816
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by pazu7 8 / 10

In praise of a well written and acted film.

This film easily rivals the emotional strength, the dramatic impact and the top-notch performances of "12 Angry Men". I rented it on a whim and was amazed that I had not heard of it before.I do not know if this was Emilio Estevez's directorial debut, but the pacing, the interplay and development of the characters as well as the some clever camera work surrounding the character Estevez plays all suggest a natural eye.The interplay between Martin and Emilio contains the same wonderful chemistry we saw in Wall Street with Martin and Charlie. Kathy Bates is wonderful in her characters subtle desperation and escapism; a variation on her characters in "At Play In The Fields Of The Lord". She is irritating and yet one can empathize with her at the same time.There are some moments where I feel the plot slows a touch and the moments between Estevez and his ex-girlfriend almost seem written for another film, Estevez comes off as another character all together. But those are minor complaints.This film must be based on a true story or must have been written by someone who lived these experiences. I rate it 8 out of a difficult 10.
Reviewed by charliemurphy02 8 / 10

Unforgettable

An under-appreciated, unseen gem. Estevez does a remarkable job of illustrating in poignant, heartbreaking fashion, the tension that arises between a son who's been to hell and back, and his parents, who can't begin to understand the emotional scarring left behind. It's not unlike Born on the Fourth of July, in that it deals with a soldiers' emotional and mental breakdown after serving in Vietnam, but while that one focused more on the politics of post-Vietnam (anti-war speeches, etc.), this one deals with a much more personal topic: Family. One man's struggle to return to normalcy after a life-altering experience, and his parents' failure to see the change that has occurred.Estevez delivers a smoldering performance as Jeremy Collier. You can sense the pain and frustration bubbling beneath surface. There to match him inch for inch is his real-life father, Martin Sheen. It's a trip watching these two act off of each other, as you get the sense that they're constantly trying to one-up one another. It's like the presence of each other inspired the pair to do their best, and their performances triumph because of it.Recommended to anyone who appreciates solid acting, writing and directing. And to any Vietnam war buff. ****/***** (8/10)
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