Under The Wire

Name: Under The Wire
Genre: Documentary
Released: November 16, 2018
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 75
Cast: Anne Wittman, Janine Birkett, Julian Lewis Jones, Karine Myriam Lapouble, Nathan Dean Williams

2018

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critics

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Under The Wire

Movie Details & Credits

Abramorama | Release Date: November 16, 2018

Starring: Anne Wittman, Janine Birkett, Julian Lewis Jones, Karine Myriam Lapouble, Nathan Dean Williams, Ziad Abaza

Summary: On 13 February 2012, two journalists entered war-ravaged Syria. One of them was celebrated Sunday Times war correspondent, Marie Colvin. The other was photographer, Paul Conroy. Their aim was to cover the plight of Syrian civilians trapped in Homs, a city under siege and relentless military attack from the Syrian army. Only one of themOn 13 February 2012, two journalists entered war-ravaged Syria. One of them was celebrated Sunday Times war correspondent, Marie Colvin. The other was photographer, Paul Conroy. Their aim was to cover the plight of Syrian civilians trapped in Homs, a city under siege and relentless military attack from the Syrian army. Only one of them returned. This is their story. [Abramorama]… Expand

Director: Chris Martin

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: R

Runtime: 95 min

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Awards & Rankings

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Critic Reviews

Screen International - Allan Hunter

Dec 13, 2018

Christopher Martin’s documentary adaptation of Conroy’s book is a powerful, humbling salute to a breed of fearless figures willing to risk their lives as they bear witness to history’s unfolding horrors. Read full review

TheWrap - Tricia Olszewski

Nov 20, 2018

Conroy wrote the book upon which the film is based and serves as the film’s central mouthpiece; full of twitchy, animated energy, he makes a terrific storyteller who’s boosted by Martin’s selection of found footage along with a minimum of jangly re-creations. Read full review

Film Journal International - Gary M. Kramer

Nov 16, 2018

Under the Wirecements Colvin’s legacy as it illustrates the value of getting to the truth and making it public. In Martin’s hands, Conroy’s story is no less compelling. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Katie Walsh

Nov 15, 2018

Under the Wire brings a vivid immediacy to this tragic event. Conroy speaks candidly to the responsibility that he feels to survive and to tell the stories of the others, a task that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. Read full review

L.A. Weekly - Alan Scherstuhl

Nov 16, 2018

The film unfolds as a sort of first-person procedural, a vivid step-by-step account of a reporting trip to hell. Read full review

CineVue - Martyn Conterio

Nov 16, 2018

Martin’s film is a thoroughly sobering watch and leaves us with tough questions about how the West chose to deal – or rather not deal – with Assad and the refugee crisis. Read full review

The New York Times - Jeannette Catsoulis

Nov 15, 2018

While the movie is rightfully more interested in lauding her bravery than highlighting her sometimes abrasive personality, these small moments help to humanize a portrait that can at times seem more awestruck than enlightening. Read full review

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Bertaut1

Nov 16, 2018

A terrific story powerfully told

The Fourth Estate has taken a pounding in recent years, and one wonders what Edward R. Murrow would have made of it all, but one thing of which we can be certain is that he would have respected the hell out of Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin.A terrific story powerfully told

The Fourth Estate has taken a pounding in recent years, and one wonders what Edward R. Murrow would have made of it all, but one thing of which we can be certain is that he would have respected the hell out of Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin. Based on the book of the same name by Colvin's photographer, Paul Conroy, who is also the primary interviewee, the documentary covers the assignment on which Colvin was killed - the February 2012 military offensive during the Siege of Homs in Syria, and whilst thematically, the film is about both Colvin's indefatigable spirit and Conroy's deep respect for her, it's structured more like a thriller, complete with plot twists, heroism, sacrifice, and success against-the-odds.

Colvin was primarily concerned with presenting the stories of those usually forgotten in conflicts, arguing that "being a war correspondent is about what people are going through". Having covered the Arab Spring in Libya, she next headed to Syria. On February 3, 2012, in the city of Homs, the Syrian Army launched an offensive focused on the rebel stronghold of Baba Amr. With the Bashar al-Assad government attempting to control the influx of journalists into the country, Colvin and Conroy illegally crossed the Syrian/Lebanon border. Once in Baba Amr, they learned that Assad's claim that no civilians were in harm's way was a lie - over 28,000 civilians were trapped. Based out of a "media centre", Colvin, Conroy, TIME's William Daniels, and Le Figaro's Edith Bouvier, and her photographer Rémi Ochlik, immediately began to file copy, as the city was shelled around them. On the evening of February 21, Colvin was interviewed live by CNN's Anderson Cooper, whom she told the shelling was the worst she had ever experienced. The following morning, the media centre in which the reporters were based was shelled, with both Colvin and Ochlik killed, and Conroy and Bouvier seriously injured.

This takes us to just after the half-way point of the film. With Colvin dead, the narrative shifts focus to Conroy, and the film turns into an escape thriller, as the wounded photographer seems to have little hope of making it out of the country alive (nor does the even more severely wounded Bouvier). Obviously both did, as they both give interviews in the film, but even though we know this, the fact that it doesn't dilute the heart-in-the-mouth experience of the second half of the narrative is a testament to Martin's craft and storytelling ability.

The film opens with a purposely disorientating shot that appears to be inside a tunnel. We later learn it is the 3km storm drain which Colvin and Conroy used to get into Syria. However, what's so well-thought-out about this opening is that the storm-drain proves vitally important towards the end too. This is basic narrative foreshadowing, but it's unusual to see it in a documentary. Also vital to this thriller structuring is the time the documentary takes to explain the Syrian Arab Red Crescent incident. No spoilers, but this sequence is one of the best parts of the film, providing perhaps the biggest twist in the story, and highlighting how one can find heroes in the most unexpected of places.

Obviously, as the author of the book on which the film is based, Conroy anchors proceedings. Indeed, there are only a few additional interviewees (Bouvier, Daniels, their Syrian translator Wa'el, Colvin's colleague and friend Lindsey Hilsum, and Times editor Paul Ryan). Passionate, funny, and full of nervous ticks, Conroy's talking-head material contrasts well with the terrifying footage he himself shot in Syria, and raises significant questions regarding why Assad has been allowed to remain in power, whilst also forcing the audience to consider our own attitude to the Syrian refugee crisis (try watching an elderly man and woman hobble away from the ruins of the home they have lived in all their lives, their few remaining possessions strapped to their backs, and remain detached as to the plight of these people). Conroy is also deeply emotional regarding his experiences, and one of the most moving parts of the documentary is when he views footage of a mass protest in Homs on the evening of February 22, with the people carrying banners and flags emblazoned with pictures of Colvin and Ochlik, alongside the words "We will not forget you". Conroy was unaware this had happened at the time, and had never seen footage of it before filming his interview. It's simply impossible not to be deeply moved by his reaction to the footage.

Equal parts emotive, stimulating, anger-inducing, and thrilling, this is a story of bravery and professional dedication in the face of unimaginable horrors, of determined humanitarianism, and impossible-to-deter dedication to giving a voice to those who so often remain voiceless.… Expand

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