Review 411: Dunkirk

Dunkirk is an amazing War film, one of Christopher Nolan's best films and one of the all-round best war films ever made.

In May 1940, Germany advanced into France, trapping Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk.
Under air and ground cover from British and French forces, troops were slowly and methodically evacuated from the beach using every serviceable naval and civilian vessel that could be found.

Firstly, I have to say that even though this film is based on a real-event, the way this film is told, beggars belief. In crafting this event on-screen, Nolan showcases it from three different perspectives with overlapping time periods - one week on land, one day at sea and one hour in the air - thus creative a non-linear narrative. Nolan cuts back and fourth between these three storylines seamlessly there is no narrative in a war film that's told quite like Dunkirk's.
In taking this approach, Nolan paints a clear picture of evacuation of Dunkirk. How harrowing and dangerous the battlefields were that fateful day.

In a lot of ways, Dunkirk is very much like a silent film, relying on beautiful imagery, piratical effects and music to tell the story. Obviously the actors do speak, but Nolan keeps the dialogue down to the minimum and they speak only when it's necessary.

Christopher Nolan's direction is unobtrusive, poised, balanced & precise, the cinematography is excellent and captures the films scope as well as the the intensity of the battle beautifully, like most of Nolan's films, he makes enormous use of practical effects and the end result is an utterly seamless experience, you feel as if you're actually there with these people. The production design (creating 1940's France) is brilliant, the costumes are fantastic, the make up is rich, the score by Hans Zimmer is astonishing, it just builds and builds to seemingly never-ending crescendos and constantly keeps the films tension on edge as well as providing a overwhelming accompaniment to the stressful action unfolding onscreen. The battle sequences are tense, suspenseful, beautifully shot and exciting to watch, the scenery is breathtaking, the sound is amazing and the

When it comes to acting, Christopher Nolan once again shows he has an excellent taste in choosing terrific actors for his films. But what sets Dunkirk apart from his previous films and other war films in general is that there is no main protagonist to speak of, it's an ensemble piece and jumps from person to person. 

I use the word "person" when describing the people in this film, because really, you can't call any of them "characters" so to speak. The film never takes its time to flesh out these people, there's no backstory, there's no front-story, they're just people doing their duty which adds to films realism. Nolan shows that in a major, desperate event about surviving featuring soldiers and officers who barely know each other beyond the event, their personalities and backstories are irrelevant in the face of survival. Aside from some highly interactions between these people, we really don't get to know much about them. Nolan

Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, One Directions' Harry Styles (yes really) Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy - it's an amazing mix of old, new & modern heavy-weights.

However, if I had to pick a standout out the whole cast, it would be Mark Rylance in the role of a simple mariner going out to recover injured soldiers. His humanity and honesty just lights up the screen - but really I think the main draw of Rylance in this film is that he's just an ordinary person, he's not a soldier or a general. He's just an ordinary man doing his duty for his country and being earnest is the best thing you can be in a situation like this.

Dunkirk is a war film for the ages, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.