Review 538: 1917
At the height of World War I during spring 1917 in Northern France. Two young British soldiers Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean "Tommen Baratheon" Charles Chapman) receive seemingly impossible orders. In a race against time, they must cross into enemy territory to deliver a message that could potentially save 1,600 of their fellow comrades - including one's own brother.
The plot is simple but the way director Sam Mendes chooses to tell it beggers belief. The film is based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred.
What 1917 conveys expertly is that in a lot of ways WWI was worse and overall much more brutal than WWII in part because more young me were killed.
Sam Mendes direction is utterly, utterly unobtrusive (his choice to use long takes to create the illusion that the film appears as one continuous shot coupled with the use of Hand-held camera work creates an almost documentary like feel to the film and helps to enhance the realism he and his crew are aiming for).
In a lot of ways, because it's edited to look like it's been edited to look like it's one shot, 1917 is almost like a theatre production on film. The camera dances around George MacKay, Dean Charles Chapman and the locations that they inhabit and never cuts away. It puts us, as an audience, in their position and helps to immerse us in the experience. We discover the world as they discover it. We see the world of these different landscapes as they find it out. Once it starts, it never stops; If something goes wrong you just have to keep going.
The results in a very distressing but emersive experience. One that left me feeling like I was a soldier returning from War with PTSD.
The cinematography is spectacular and expertly captures the horror and chaos of the battle The locations are outstanding (the wastelands that Schofield and Blake go through are almost like an underworld), the scenery is breathtaking, the score by Thomas Newman is beautifully harrowing, the lighting is gorgeous and helps to enhance to fear factor of the War. The sound is amazing and captures the atmosphere and terror of the war. The production design is excellent, the costumes are fantastic, the make up is rich and alive with detail.
The acting is specular, George MacKay and Dean Charles Chapman are excellent in this film.
MacKay proves that he's one of the fastest rising stars working today with a rousing, dedicated and performance playing Lance Corporal William Schofield.
Schofield is really forced to carry a lot of emotional weight in this film as he fights his way across Northern France to deliver this message. The majority of the film is told through his eyes; What he sees, we see. What he experineces, we experience it with him. It's that love for his brother that excellerates the story.
In smallers roles, Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, Richard Madden and Benedict Cumberbatch play army officers whom Schofield and Blake encounter on their journey.
5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
The plot is simple but the way director Sam Mendes chooses to tell it beggers belief. The film is based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred.
What 1917 conveys expertly is that in a lot of ways WWI was worse and overall much more brutal than WWII in part because more young me were killed.
Sam Mendes direction is utterly, utterly unobtrusive (his choice to use long takes to create the illusion that the film appears as one continuous shot coupled with the use of Hand-held camera work creates an almost documentary like feel to the film and helps to enhance the realism he and his crew are aiming for).
In a lot of ways, because it's edited to look like it's been edited to look like it's one shot, 1917 is almost like a theatre production on film. The camera dances around George MacKay, Dean Charles Chapman and the locations that they inhabit and never cuts away. It puts us, as an audience, in their position and helps to immerse us in the experience. We discover the world as they discover it. We see the world of these different landscapes as they find it out. Once it starts, it never stops; If something goes wrong you just have to keep going.
The results in a very distressing but emersive experience. One that left me feeling like I was a soldier returning from War with PTSD.
The cinematography is spectacular and expertly captures the horror and chaos of the battle The locations are outstanding (the wastelands that Schofield and Blake go through are almost like an underworld), the scenery is breathtaking, the score by Thomas Newman is beautifully harrowing, the lighting is gorgeous and helps to enhance to fear factor of the War. The sound is amazing and captures the atmosphere and terror of the war. The production design is excellent, the costumes are fantastic, the make up is rich and alive with detail.
The acting is specular, George MacKay and Dean Charles Chapman are excellent in this film.
MacKay proves that he's one of the fastest rising stars working today with a rousing, dedicated and performance playing Lance Corporal William Schofield.
Schofield is really forced to carry a lot of emotional weight in this film as he fights his way across Northern France to deliver this message. The majority of the film is told through his eyes; What he sees, we see. What he experineces, we experience it with him. It's that love for his brother that excellerates the story.
In smallers roles, Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, Richard Madden and Benedict Cumberbatch play army officers whom Schofield and Blake encounter on their journey.
5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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