1917
(Director: Sam Mendes)
1917 is the most recent release from the British director
Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall, Spectre). The plot consists of very
little. Two British officers Blake and Schofield (played by two fairly unknown
British actors) in the First World War must travel across No Mans Land and into
enemy territory to warn a battalion of 1,600 troops that their planned assault
on the Germans is in fact a trap.
Conceptually, the story is incredibly basic but the
practicality and presentation of the story is truly remarkable.
Mendes and Director of Photography Roger Deakins (No Country
for Old Men, Blade Runner 2049, Shawshank Redemption) employ a series on
one-shots, where the camerawork and crafty editing capture what appears to be one
continuous shot throughout the journey of our two protagonists. This gimmick
has been employed in previous films such Birdman, Rope or the wonderful Russian
Ark, which many see as the greatest example of a one-shot film.
What sets 1917 apart however, in comparison to those films
mentioned, is it takes predominantly in exterior settings. All three other
films take place indoors meaning the same set can be used and practically lends
itself to an easier shoot. For 1917, the simple understanding of all the sets
our characters meander through are man-made, purposefully built to last each
particular sequence all while the camera keeps moving forward.
With that, there is this raw intense heartbeat to the film
that only accelerates as each obstacle is overcome. Ducking and weaving through
the mud-scape of No Man’s Land, the serene beauty of French farmland and to a decimated
haunting bonfire lit town, like the characters, the film never has time to settle.
Given the urgency of their mission, there is never any let
up. We are never more than ten feet away from our characters as they cross a
landscape unknown to them as well as us. And with that, we are immersed into
this world and must suffer as each exhaustive breath is taken, excruciating
pain is endured and explosions ricochets past our ears.
Like many of the best films, especially within a genre as
sensory as the war film, tactility remains the key to unlocking the wonder of 1917.
While we are stuck with these two young men on their journey, the capturing of each
setting is masterfully done. We shiver at the coldness of the trenches, we
smell the mud and sodden water in No Man’s Land, we feel the barbed wire slice
a character’s hand. This sense of a tangible, lived-in world, something we can touch
and smell only serves to immerse for when the emotional heartstrings are pulled
on as the film reaches its climax.
In those final stages of story, there were moments where I
was simply questioning how on Earth they did that. The effortlessness of gliding
through an interior setting with a handheld steady-cam through a window and
onto a crane shot and back to steady-cam. Like Dunkirk, taking a step back and simply
marvelling at the craftmanship of 1917 is enough for the ticket fare.
A simple story yes, but told in a remarkable way. It has
been a long time since I have experienced such a feeling of overwhelming emotion
while watching any particular film. During what will surely go down as the iconic
‘shot’ of the film which we see in the trailer, as Schofield runs across the frontline
with hundreds of soldiers running past him. That feeling of astonishment is something
I have only experienced a few times as a cinema goer, most recently being
Inception and Mad Max: Fury Road.
I would implore anyone to see this and to hopefully enjoy it
as much as I have done. It’s a superb, simple story told by two geniuses in
their field (Mendes and Deakins) with two brilliant central performances by George
MacKay & Dean-Charles Chapman and an array of British acting talent (Colin
Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong) in support. Along with Dunkirk, 1917
has indeed become a jewel in the British War genre and in modern British Cinema.
Comments
Post a Comment