It’s an atmospheric drama and a strong turn from Williams, but doesn’t tell us anything about ourselves or the terrorists that we didn’t already know.
Incendiary (2008)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:8
Fresh:2
Rotten:6
Average Rating:3.8/10
Consensus: A solid performance from Michelle Williams isn’t enough to save this well meaning, but disappointing, cliché ridden drama.
Theatrical Release:24-10-2008
Synopsis: Based on a novel released two days before the London bombings, Incendiary is a contemporary portrait of England that deftly interweaves tragedy, sex, politics, and the grief emanating from a... Based on a novel released two days before the London bombings, Incendiary is a contemporary portrait of England that deftly interweaves tragedy, sex, politics, and the grief emanating from a suicide terrorist attack on a London soccer stadium. Directed with dispatch and clarity by Sharon Maguire (in a complete departure from her previous feature, Bridget Jones's Diary), Incendiary is a multilayered chronicle of one woman's life (she is superbly played by Michelle Williams) and the way it is utterly transformed in the course of a single afternoon. What might have been just a momentary tryst with a sexy journalist (Ewan MacGregor) who lives across the road is forever changed by the broadcast of the terrorist explosion and her flash of realization that her husband and son, who are attending the match, are probably victims. While she tries to deal with her guilt and despair, her life unravels even further as she seeks answers and a degree of consolation and discovers new relationships in a world turned upside down, one that both reveals and covers up the truth about the day's events. As much a commentary on modern life and politics as a personal chronicle, Incendiary is an ever-evolving, wonderfully unpredictable cinematic experience that captures the ambivalent nature of today's world--moral contradictions and all--even as it searches for a road to personal salvation. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]
Starring: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor, Matthew MacFadyen
Starring: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor, Matthew MacFadyen
Director: Sharon Maguire, Anand Tucker
Director: Sharon Maguire
Producer: Andy Paterson
Director: Anand Tucker
Producer: Adrienne Maguire
Reviews for Incendiary
It ends up being a compendium of bizarre diversions, most of which are utterly surplus to the film’s half-cocked desire to stick with the experience and emotions of its main character.
A promising opening and a stunning performance from Michelle Williams are not enough to rescue a film that jumps restlessly from genre to genre without doing justice to any of its individual stories.
The movie plunges straight down that treacherous black hole that exists between fact and fiction and the inability to replicate either.
A big-hearted, well-intentioned but ultimately overstretched adaptation.
London is bombed and contrives to be less recognisable than it's ever been on film, full of people who don't look, act or even speak like Londoners.
Michelle William's riveting performance as the young mother makes it imminently watchable.
Latest News for Incendiary
October 24, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Is Ghost Town Going Down? Does High School Musical 3 Make The Grade?
Hitting UK cinemas this week we have Ricky Gervais as a dentist who sees dead people in the comedy Ghost Town, the long awaited big screen debut for the Disney behemoth that is... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
| 53% 53% | David & Layla |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Incendiary at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

