Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast Headliners: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, many others
Original Release Date: July 21st, 2017
The term “war is
hell” is a term that has been explored through many films and media
over the years. Particularly in the grand epic stakes of World War 2,
where true stories are epic, dramatic, and sorrowful enough to
provide inspiring, or harrowing, tales of warfare. Dunkirk names
itself after the true Dunkirk evacuation of 1940. Director
Christopher Nolan takes his first attempt at a WW2 film, and the
result is what one would expect it to be.
The stakes match
history: in 1940, British and French forces had been pushed the edge
of France (just a short while across the sea from Britain) by Nazi
forces. From all sides enemy forces are hunting down the troops, and
the situation seems dire.
The approach and
intricate touch of Nolan is noticeable right off the bat. The movie
plays, like Memento and Inception prior, with time and layers of
storytelling. There is the aspect of the British ground forces
leaving the beach including soldiers (in a way the main protagonist
of ) Tommy(Fionn Whitehead ) alongside Gibson(Aneurin Barnard) and
Alex(Harry Styles from pop band One Direction ) under leadership such
as Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh) and Colonel Winnant (James
D'Arcy). Separately, there is the civilian family out at far sea of
Mr.Dawson(Mark Rylance) and his helpers son Peter(Tom Glynn-Carney)
and friend George(Barry Keoghan) who meet an unnamed Shivering
Soldier (Cillian Murphy). Lastly, there's the air battle in the
skies above of RAF pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack
Lowden).
These perspectives
play with time and place, with events taking place either one week,
one day, or one hour before a nexus point. It is however not really
confusing, moreso a narrative puzzle that is intriguing to figure out
, as often Nolan has. Things make sense in due time and the
escalating tension of the plots is helped by big events ramping up
and up. It's neat to see where the plotlines and timelines
interconnect into each other once they eventually do.
This strong aspect
of the movie ties together even strongly when considering the visual
and audio treat of it all. Nolan's directing and camera work reaches
some of the highest heights of his career. This ranges in a spectrum
from the most real of intimate shots on the frontline, to the most
beautiful and grey skies of the air foce combat. When water comes, it
is claustropbic. Explosions and bullets seem within inches of the
audience's fate. This leads to that “survival” aspect of the film
more than most war films. This is aided by an amazing, layered score
soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (as he always does) who's ticking strings
and other instruments tie into the pulse of what s going down in the
desperate stakes. Additionally, the audio design of everything is
loud, realistic, and effective. Every inch of this is real and
gritty...costumes, grey skies, somber music. It's an intense
experience.
“Survival
experience” would explain this film in another way in that , while
it is brutal and dire, it is not so much a movie about action in that
it is about reacting to action in a real way. The German Nazi forces
are never humanized (this was apparently done on purposes) and mostly
appear off-screen. This gives the movie a haunting, intense quality
since danger can come from anywhere anytime, as it was likely on the
real location of Dunkirk back then. The threats are fire, water, and
so on due to that...it makes war an elemental force which is fitting
in many ways. However a possible drawback is, there is not really
much of a driving plot or storyline other than “survive and get
out”. The vague experiences of the film due lead to some intense
situations, but they are sporadic in the waves of conflict rather
than having a definning character arc within that conflict.
The performances
and characters within the film reflect that. It seems that usually in
his films there is the coincidence of strong writing and acting. Even
the (many) unnamed characters come across as sincere and momentarily
memorable, as per Nolan tradition. No one really gets much dialogue
to speak but that is in line with the ambience at play. When they do,
there is some memorable players. Whitehead's Tommy is a bit of a
generic young everyman but that may be the point..he does alright
with what he's given and is an endearing face in the danger. This
seem aspect can be seen in those accompianment such as Lowden's pilot
Collins, D'Arcy's Colonel, and Glynn-Carney's Peter.
The standouts thus
standout even more strongly. Tom Hardy's Farrier speaks perhaps the
most little of all, but in his eyes and physical movement he gives a
powerful and dedicate performance as any in his career. Branagh's
Commander shouts orders and speaks quietly of grim things, but is
emotional and sincere within it. Style's Alex shows the pop singer
has some great acting talent.. he has a bit of brutish nature and
swagger that makes him stand out amongst the British forces. The best
dramatic scenes come from Rylance's Dawson (who is extremely wise,
determined, and badass) and especially with Murphy's Soldier who is
affected by regret and PTSD. The emotional feels will stick with the
viewer long after the film in these cases.
In the pantheon of
both World War 2 and Nolan films, there's been perhaps some better.
It is not a traditional one of either. But what it is, is a finely
crafted, slightly surreal and intense tale of courage and survival in
a desperate situation. Bravo Nolan at your take. 9 out of 10
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