A Private Function Gilbert Chilvers (Michael Palin), who was encouraged to do so by his wife Joyce (Maggie Smith). Meanwhile a food inspector is determined to stop activities circumventing the food rationing. Three pigs were used in the filming of "A Private Function", all named Betty. Producer Mark Shivas was advised by Intellectual Animals UK that the pigs used should be female and six months old so as to not be too large or aggressive. However, the pigs were "unpredictable and often quite dangerous". During filming of one of the kitchen scenes, Maggie Smith was hemmed in by one of the pigs and
A Private War Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, and the Woodstock Film Festival. The film was released on November 2, 2018 in limited release, before expanding nationwide on November 16, 2018. "A Private War" is slated for a UK and Irish release on 1st February 2019. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 89% based on 89 reviews, and the average score is 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""A Private War" honors its real-life subject with a sober appraisal of the sacrifices required of journalists on the front lines - and career-best work by Rosamund Pike." On review aggregator Metacritic,