The War at Home (film)

The War at Home
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Emilio Estevez
Produced by	James Duff Brad Krevoy Emilio Estevez Steven Stabler
Written by	James Duff, based on his play
Starring	Emilio Estevez Kathy Bates Martin Sheen Kimberly Williams
Music by	Basil Poledouris
Cinematography	Peter Levy
Edited by	Craig Bassett
Production company	Touchstone Pictures
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates	20 November 1996
Running time	119 min.
Country	U.S.
Language	English
Budget	$3 million
Box office	$44,722

The War at Home is a 1996 war drama film starring, directed and co-produced by Emilio Estevez. The film also stars Kathy Bates, and Estevez' father, Martin Sheen. Writer James Duff adapted his own 1984 play Home Front, into film.

Plot

Estevez plays Jeremy Collier, a returning Vietnam War hero whose experiences leave him unable to adjust to the quiet realities of small town life. The film discusses the hidden costs of war on those who fight. Sheen plays Bob Collier, Jeremy's father. He expects his son to go back to his life as it was, without understanding the problems of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Kathy Bates plays Estevez's mother, Maurine, who treats Jeremy "like he's a 10-year-old", and seems to think he should forget about his war experiences. His sister Karen, played by actress Kimberly Williams, is more understanding of his readjustment problems, but their father doesn't want her to help her brother.

This is portrayed in the movie when the family's Thanksgiving celebration occurs and Jeremy refuses to put on his "nice" clothes and instead decides to wear his combat uniform and medal. The film climaxes at the conclusion of the Thanksgiving celebration when Jeremy pulls his semi-automatic handgun on his father and his family, explaining the hate he feels for his father because he wouldn't lend Jeremy money to leave the country to escape the draft.

Production

The film was made for $3 million, following a deal Estevez cut with Disney (who would later under-promote the film) to appear in D3: The Mighty Ducks, and was distributed by Touchstone Pictures.^[1] The soundtrack is faithful to the time period, using music from artists such as Buffalo Springfield, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Singer Jena Kraus is featured singing a folk version of the song "Me and Bobby Mcgee" as well.

Reception

The film was a box office failure, grossing only $43,000.^[2] The film was released on DVD in the US in September 2002.

The film received decent reviews, with a 60% 'fresh' rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.^[3] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B- and said, 'The Vietnam-flashback material doesn’t resonate as sharply as it did when screenwriter James Duff first presented this as a stage play in 1984. But with Sheen doing a nice turn as a bewildered Dad and Kathy Bates such a nerve-rattling force as the kill-em-with-cleanliness mother, the agonized family dynamics are effectively awful.'^[4]

Stephen Holden of the New York Times remarked how familiar the premise was, but that, ' The War at Home, James Duff's adaptation of his play Home Front, which ran briefly on Broadway in 1985, still finds moments of wrenching sadness in its microscopic examination of an all-American family torn apart by the Vietnam War,' and praised the performances and themes.^[5]

References

External links

• The War at Home at the Internet Movie Database
• The War at Home at Rotten Tomatoes
• The War at Home at Box Office Mojo