Maxine Peake's "compelling and timely" real-life drama Words of War has been quietly added to UK streamer
By Joe Anderton
Maxine Peake's Words of War has been quietly added to a UK streaming subscription service, following a very brief stint in cinemas for one day in the summer and a release on digital storefronts.
The film stars Peake as real-life Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya, who reported on both the conflict in Chechnya and the corruption in Vladmir Putin's government, despite the many attempts to silence her.
She's joined in the cast by Game of Thrones' Ciarán Hinds, The White Lotus' Jason Isaacs, Mr Burton's Harry Lawtey, and Kaos' Fady Elsayed.
Behind the camera is James Strong, who previously directed Mr Bates vs the Post Office and several episodes of Doctor Who in David Tennant's first era.
As of today, Words of War is now available to stream as part of a Prime Video subscription.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a solid 75% positive score from 24 reviews from critics.
The Times called Peake "fearsome" in her performance, and that the film itself is "compelling and timely".
The review also praises the actors for speaking in their normal accents, stating: "Nobody wants to watch a bunch of seasoned thesps rolling their Russian Rs like wannabe Bond villains."
The Washington Post praised the film for how it "doesn't cut corners to comfort an audience. Eric Poppen's screenplay is frank about the costs that come with being a reporter’s source and frank, too, about the ways in which Politkovskaya’s status as 'the one Russian the entire Chechen population trusts' allowed her to be used as a pawn for the government’s own ends."
In a more mixed review, The Guardian wrote that "the film deserves respect for the subject matter, even though this is a pretty basic rendition of Politkovskaya’s story, a little too sticky with hagiographic sentimentality and the cliches of crusading journalist-led movies."
Meanwhile, Peake's new film I Swear is out in cinemas next month, and has received some very positive critical buzz ahead of release.
Words of War is available to stream now with a Prime Video subscription.
View this article on Yahoo!News