A One Mann’s Movies review of “1917” (2019).
Bob the Movie Man’s Rating:
Certification:
US: R. UK: 15.
“1917” has already won Best Film at the Golden Globes, and seems set for Oscar glory too. Is Sam Mendes‘s WW1 epic any good?
“The Man is the Mission”
The similarities with the storyline of Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” are evident. Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) has a brother serving in another battalion of 1,600 men under the command of Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch). The problem is that they are walking into a trap and are about to be slaughtered when they go over the top at dawn. General Erinmore (Colin Firth) picks Blake and his mate Lance Corporal Will Schofield (George MacKay) to run a dangerous mission to cross no-mans land, break through the German lines and get the message to Mackenzie to call the attack off.
Colin Firth’s take on General Melchett. This was a point where the film didn’t feel realistic: Erinmore seemed to be vaguely sane! (Source: Entertainment One).
1917 is tense from start to finish.
Famously, the movie uses the “Rope” / “Birdman” technique of appearing to film the action as a single continuous take. This adds enormously to the tension as the duo proceed into danger. Aside from a chance meeting with a French foster mother (Claire Duburcq), the tension is maintained at 110% for the film’s duration. Which makes for an exhausting watch!
Congratulations by the way to Ms Duburcq for bagging the one female role in the whole movie! This is the anti-dote to the female-heavy movies of 2019!
Blake and Schofield approaching a farmhouse. A scene of great tension. BTW, for any other local folk, I believe this is between Upavon and Enford on Salisbury Plain. (Source: Entertainment One).
Glorious cinematography; glorious music.
This is a movie you MUST go to see in the cinema. A star of the show is Roger Deakins‘ cinematography which is just glorious to look at. The hell-holes (literally) of no-mans land are one thing, but then we get the sweeping landscapes of the green french countryside (actually Wiltshire, just a few miles from where I live!). But the really jaw-dropping cinematography for me came in a flare-lit ruined French town. The effect of a raging fire in the distance and the constantly shifting shadows of the ruins is truly spectacular.
All of this is helped by a great score by Thomas Newman, particularly at this moment in the film. The music suits the action perfectly, which is all you can ask for from a score.
Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) doing the cross-flow sprint. (Source: Entertainment One).
MacKay turns in a sterling performance.
I first noticed George MacKay in one of the lead roles in the Proclaimers musical “Sunshine on Leith” and then again in “Pride“: both relatively low-key British films. Here he is catapulted onto the global blockbuster stage, and has nowhere to hide being on-screen literally for the whole running time (and he is running!). He doesn’t disappoint: the performance is a stellar one and he holds the drama together.
He’s got good support though: small but important supporting roles come from not only Firth and Cumberbatch but also Daniel (“Line of Duty”) Mays; Andrew (“Kneel!”) Scott; Adrian (“Killing Eve”) Scarborough and Richard Madden. But my favourite was a quietly strong (no pun intended) from Mark Strong as a friendly captain with good advice for our hero.
Quietly powerful. Mark Strong as Captain Smith. (Source: Entertainment One).
Is the single-shot idea a gimmick?
Perhaps. But it is extremely effective at maintaining the momentum. Perhaps to a degree it is a bit of a distraction, since I was constantly looking for the cuts (and very clever they are too). But it is undeniably a marvellous piece of film-making. The choreography involved with getting all of those actors and extras moving in unison for the length of some of those takes would make even Busby Berkeley sweat!
There are also some truly extraordinary action shots: a barn scene (and its dramatic aftermath) is one of the most incredible bits of film-making I’ve seen not just this year (that’s not saying much!) but also last year.
Grittily realistic.
The movie is not for the faint-hearted, with some truly gruesome scenes that stick in the mind afterwards. The illustrious Mrs Movie Man spent most of the movie with her hands over her eyes! But in general, this feels authentic. My own grandfather spent 3 days and nights lying wounded in the French mud, before being rescued… by the Germans. War is hell, and the film reflects that.
Director Sam Mendes — also a Golden Globe winner – only goes a bit Hollywood at one point: a musical interlude where an exhausted Schofield creeps into camp (what? no guards?) and listens to a wistful acappella. The realism felt like it went from 10/10 to 7/10.
Man at work. Sam Mendes takes his two stars (Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay) through the day’s choreography. (Source: Entertainment One).
1917 deserves its awards.
This is a top-class piece of movie-making and deserves all its award success. I went in with a bit of an “Oscar-bait” attitude; the one-take gimmick peaking my interest but also stoking my cynicism. Was this to be just a technically fabulous movie that would win the awards but not really entertain? But my cynicism was unfounded. It’s a gripping watch and a truly memorable movie.
See it. See it at the cinema. And see it at a cinema with as big a screen and with as great a sound system as possible.
Trailer for 1917:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcmZN0Mbl04.
