Review - 1917

Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Picture

1917 is the latest film from Sam Mendes and seems to be primed to blow this awards season wide open. It's a film with a pretty simple story, rooted in historical reality (or so it seems to posit). Two men are in World War 1 (you'll never guess the year) and are given a task; they are to go across enemy lines to find a nearby battalion and warn them that if they charge tomorrow, thousands may die, including the brother of one of our lead soldiers. I think this is all the film needs as it provides all the motivation and deadlines we need to be compelled. We know the characters have to get to this front-line by the morning and by making it personal, it gives them even more reason to do so. Great, that is such efficient screenwriting. Sure, we've had a year of some very impressive and intricate story structures (Uncut Gems, Parasite and Avengers: Endgame to name just three) but sometimes, we should all really appreciate simplicity and efficiency. Structure wise, you could honestly compare this film to Speed. Some people may laugh at that comparison but we should all stop denying that Speed is a masterpiece and a comparison like that is meant to be genuinely complimentary.

While it's not really getting much attention for it, 1917 is also packed with brilliant performances. It's one of those British films were clearly word got out that it was going to be good and everyone pestered their agent to get them in the film. There's a couple who were big surprises to me so I won't spoil their appearance but whenever people do appear, they do great. Andrew Scott is brilliant as always, Mark Strong pulls his classic "gruff but friendly" trick out and it feels weird now to see Colin Firth when he isn't about to sing ABBA. There is the slight issue that sometimes, the appearances of these famous British actors can pull you out of the film and while I occasionally had that, it was never a problem that lasted too long with me. Fortunately, I also don't think that'll be a problem as the two leads are relative unknowns and conveniently, also fab. The least known of the two is Dean-Charles Chapman, who plays the soldier whose brother is at risk. His determination is entirely believable and I was glad to be on the journey with him. The other soldier is the slightly more known George MacKay, great before in stuff like Captain Fantastic and 11.22.63 and fabulous here too. He has a fantastic physicality that is reminiscent of the way silent film stars would carry themselves and he carries this film on his lanky shoulders. Fingers crossed, it'll be a huge breakout for the both of them, as they clearly deserve it.

Okay, we'll finally get to the elephant in the room, the cinematography for this film. We've had a lot of war films before, a lot of them great looking, so how do you distinguish yourself from the pack? Cinematographer Roger Deakins decided that apparently, the way to do it is split the film into two continuous takes. To clarify, many have been describing the film as made to look like one unbroken shot and that's wrong, there is a very distinct cut to black in the middle of the film but largely, we follow our characters in swooping camera movements that never cut away, immersing the audience in a way that is near unparalleled. Other aspects of the cinematography are brilliant too, not least the use of light and shadow. There's a scene set in the ruins of a village at night which has some of my favourite use of light and shadow outside of black and white films, it is just stunningly presented. Obviously, as is always the case with war films, the sound mixing is on point too, truly making the film worth seeing on a big screen. That's been a lot of the dialogue around this film, about how it should be seen on the big screen. People have been saying this because of the action set pieces and while those are certainly excellent, I most fell in love with the quiet moments, the in-between bits when it's just the men talking. By having these moments in the film, fairly frequently, we are given a chance to care for and understand these characters. That means that when the action and peril finally reaches them, we care about what's about to happen and are fully with them.

One thing that no one will dispute about 1917 is its technical mastery and flair. Whether the emotion reels you in enough may prove to be more divisive, as I've had friends who have not fell in love like I have. With that said, I certainly do love it, it's one of my favourite films of 2019 and I will celebrate every award it picks up over the next couple of months. There are a handful of greater films but there are so very many worse films and for that reason, I'm delighted to give 1917 a