1917 Review
Based on a WWI story from writer/director Sam Mendes' grandfather, 1917 tells a story about two British soldiers -played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman -sent on a mission to deliver a message that warns of an enemy ambush. The mission is brutal and seemingly impossible but countless of lives hang in the balance and time is ticking. We embark on this hellish journey across trenches, no man's land, fields, hills, buildings ruined by decay and war, and so much more during its two hours. As much mayhem and bleakness as there is, there are long stretches of meditation, relief, joy, humour, and beauty. We follow two normal and unassuming young men and they are just normal men who are tasked with a crucial duty. The story is seemingly told through one very long continuous take. There are great recent examples of one shot films like Victoria and Son of Saul. But this one is way bigger in scope. The cinematography is directed by none other than Roger fucking Deakins and his crew. He's a favourite among cinephiles and this is an incredible example of his work and is a huge reason for a lot of people to go see it. But, as Deakins keeps telling everyone over and over again, the job of the camera is to be invisible and at some points, I was completely immersed in the experience and forgot about the camera despite sitting in a theatre around distracting audience members. The movie will and have already gotten a lot of comparisons to Dunkirk and while Dunkirk was characterless, confused chaos (intentionally so), 1917 is the opposite of that. It's a movie that takes its time to flesh out its characters and geography so that you're never confused as to where and what things are. It's a movie that always moves forward no matter the cost and it's a triumph of filmmaking and an unbelievable piece of art.