You can never go wrong with Tom Hardy. So whenever there’s a project that piques his interest, my interest is also piqued. Variety reports that Hardy will produce and star in a Bosnian War movie that will reunite him with director Gavin O’Connor (who directed Warrior and most recently The Accountant starring Ben Affleck). Another Hardy/O’Connor pairing? That’s like getting two prizes in a box of Cracker Jack.
The drama is titled “My War Gone By, I Miss It So,” and is based on the 1999 novel by Anthony Loyd. The novel is Loyd’s personal account of the Bosnian War, and it goes beyond the field of battle as it alternates between wartime experiences and personal reflections of family, estrangement, and heroin addiction.
“‘My War Gone By’ is a brutal yet sensitive story which addresses both the nature of addiction and the experience of war,” Hardy said. “I was struck by Anthony’s work and words, experiences, and for me his is an important voice and an important book.”
At the age of 26, Loyd left England for Bosnia to experience war from the front lines. The struggles he witnessed among the Serbs, Croatians, and Bosnian Muslims would follow him back home and resurface in the form of substance abuse.
“An up-close-and-personal account of a heroin junkie reporting from the front lines of Bosnia — the bloodiest conflict Europe has witnessed since the Second World War — who uses the high of war to kick his drug habit. It’s a book written with both fists. It’s Anthony’s ‘Apocalypse Now.’ I feel privileged and honored for the opportunity to bring the book to the movies.” – Gavin O’Connor
