Review- Dunkirk

Dunkirk is the tenth film from Christopher Nolan and despite being the shortest of his films in quite a long time, it is just as epic as any of his other work. For once, it's a story steeped in history, specifically the evacuation of British troops from the beaches of Dunkirk during the second world war. Nolan comes at this story from three intersected stories. The first is of the troops on the ground, trying to make their way to a ship that won't sink and across the English Channel, taking place over a week. The second is of civilians from England who sail over to Dunkirk to try and pick up troops who haven't been able to make it to any of the big destroyers, taking place over a day. The final one is of Spitfire pilots, taking out the dive bombers who are trying to halt the evacuations, taking place over an hour. As I said, the stories interconnect and it makes for a pretty exciting time, watching events that don't necessarily take place at the same time slowly weaving themselves together. It's genius directing from Nolan because it means that there is never any time for breathing room.

While I wouldn't say that any one actor in the film does a standout job, everyone on screen did exactly what they needed to do perfectly. On the ground and probably the lead actor of the film is Fionn Whitehead. He's the character we start the film with and the one we end with so he's the closest we have to a perspective. He does a great job and acts almost primarily through physicality, something that is certainly underdone in most other films. The other main character on the ground is the one played by Harry Styles. He does a fine enough job and while his presence was a little distracting first time around, he blended in perfectly the second tie. On the boat, it's Mark Rylance and Cillian Murphy who do the heavy lifting and as you would expect from actors of that caliber, both are great. Probably the most impressive performance given the little he has to work with is Tom Hardy. He spends the entire film in the cockpit of a Spitfire with most of his face covered and manages to do with half of his face what most actors couldn't do with their entire body. Put simply, no performance will disappoint in this film.

What I really have to talk about now is the sense of tension that the film creates. In the early minutes of the film, you hear the ticking of a pocket watch, gradually building tension. You start to get the feeling that after about five minutes the tension will become unbearable and couldn't possibly get any greater. The first part is right, the second proved wrong almost instantly. As I mentioned earlier, the cutting between different time frames means that there is never a moment to relax while watching the film. There's also some moments where that technique makes watching near impossible, as the troops on the land try to run from German bombers, the men at sea try to save as many people as possible and Tom Hardy has to take out the enemy planes before they can cause too much damage. Just as impressive as the creation of tension is the effects of the film, in that most of it is practical. Nolan really was sinking massive ships and having Tom Hardy be in a flying Spitfire, all for the sake of making the work believable and it shows. You never doubt the events on screen for a second, although for maximum immersion I highly recommend seeing this on as large a screen as possible. If there's one near you, an IMAX is the way to go for certain.

If you haven't see Dunkirk yet, I don't know what's keeping you. Like all other Nolan films, it really has to be seen on the big screen. I may not rank him as my favourite director but he really is one of the most talented directors working today and no one does cinematic experiences like him. It's already one of the most talked about films of the year that you just have to see, one that I give a