Making a war film is no easy task as the film must differentiate itself from other films within the genre, along with capturing the raw emotions and horrors of battle. Every film with the theme of war that's been made in today's era of filmmaking strives to be the
Saving Private Ryan of their respective stories whether its a film set in World War ll or Vietnam. In the case of
1917, the film aims to dethrone the classic 1930 World War l tale titled
All Quiet On The Western Front with its intentions of becoming the definitive first World War film, that not only manages to be extremely well-crafted and thrilling to watch, but is filmed in a way that separates it from most war films in general. Produced, co-written, and directed by Sam Mendes who previously helmed
Skyfall, he presents a thrilling and suspenseful tale that's based on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes. It's a tale that's been made with the sparring of no expense, as well as a unique attention to detail paid to it's story. Filmed as two long continuous shots, the film turned out to be a huge critical success garnering a total of 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture with the film blasting its way to the top of the box office charts with an impressive 30 million opening, dethroning
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker from the box office crown. Watching
1917, it's no surprise that the film has garnered the acclaim it's received thus far. The film is slick, impressively shot, engaging from start to finish with characters the audience grow to care about, and carries a story that remains grounded in reality while making the war a personal experience for audiences. The end result is an impressive technological achievement, that presents the first World War to audiences in a way that's bold, unique, hard-hitting, immersive, and captures the thrill that audiences garnered watching the iconic No Mans Land scene from Patty Jenkins
Wonder Woman. 1917 stands as being one of the definitive movies of the first World War, as well as being one of 2019's crowning achievements (With a strong possibility that it ends up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture).
The plot for
1917 centers around two young British corporals (Both played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) being given a suicide mission while fighting against the German army in the trenches during World War I. Their mission includes running across enemy lines, through open fields, additional trenches, abandoned villages, rivers and forests in order to deliver an urgent message to the commanding officer of a forward unit, whose preparing for an ill-advised attack. The story narrative for
1917 is straight-forward, keeping the film moving at a quick pace that delivers non-stop action with the films dramatic moments hitting the audience hard. What Sam Mendes and the team behind
1917 do admirably well is putting the audience in the trenches and having them experience the first World War through the eyes of the main characters. While the story is a rather easy one to follow, it's the intensity of the situation combined with the way the movie is filmed that makes it compelling. The film masterfully sets up its action set-pieces to be utilized to maximum potential with the scenes in between being used to develop the relationship between the two soldiers. From the moment
1917 begins until its final shot, the movie instantly draws the audience into the story and doesn't let them go until the end with the suspense being slowly built up to the point where the audience is barely left with any room to breathe. The film serves as a wonderful combination of solid storytelling mixed with both creative and brilliant filmmaking.
One of the key elements that makes the story of
1917 work is the powerful performances of the films main actors. George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman deliver brilliant performances with their character arcs being the heart of the film as well as the glue that holds it together. Both actors share strong chemistry together with their characters being presented from the start as likable soldiers, who engage in a race against time to save other fellow soldiers from being killed. Given that the film is filmed as being a continuous take, the performances of the main actors look even more impressive given the lack of takes forces them to give nothing short of pure devotion to their roles. Out of the two main actors, George MacKay delivers the strongest performance with a role that demanded large doses of emotion for him to pull off with MacKay meeting the necessary role requirements. Despite MacKay delivering the stronger performance, Dean- Charles Chapman still manages to hold his own and showcases pure dedication to paying his character. Both actors bring a natural form of realism to their roles, making the audience care about their well-being. The rest of the supporting cast does well with their minimal parts that includes the likes of
Kingsman's Colin Firth as General Erinmore, who sends the young boys on a mission to deliver the message to the commanding officer, Mark Strong also from
Kingsman as Captain Smith, and Benedict Cumberbatch in a surprise role as General Mackenzie, the commanding officer unknowingly walking into a trap with his men. With a production as challenging as this one, there was always going to be the demand for an ensemble group of professionally trained actors who could not only deliver strong performances, but do so with minimal takes. With the professional actors selected for the film, they manage to rise to the occasion with Mackay and Chapman giving the best performances of the entire cast with the older (And more well-known) actors guiding them through the story.
Besides the films terrific performances, the film truly shines due to the masterful directing of it's filmmaker. Director Sam Mandes takes what's essentially a personal war story and turns it into a unique and powerful experience for the audience. Whereas the Germans are mentioned and briefly shown to be the enemy in the story, Mendes makes the real enemy of the main characters to be time given how little of it MacKay and Chapman's characters have to complete their mission. The decision to film the movie as one endless shot is an interesting approach to the story, one that works as a brilliant gimmick because the movie instantly draws the audience into the story and keeps them engaged, while ultimately making it hard for them to take their eyes off the screen. Mendes also creates moments that are both suspenseful and disturbing, making the audience greatly concerned for the safety of the main characters as well as wanting them to succeed in delivering their message. The films cinematography by Roger Deakens is breathtaking with the film having a visually stunning look on the big screen. One would be hard-pressed to find a better shot film to take home the Oscar for Best cinematography over this one. The films score by Thomas Newman is also another noteworthy aspect of the film with it bringing the right amounts of emotion and suspense to the story. Like the visual look of the film, the design of the battlefields, trenches, and costume design for the films time period all appear to be spot on, bringing the story to life on the big screen while making it feel real. Mendes does a fantastic job of putting the audience in the trenches with the troops while creating a mood and atmosphere that's intense and frightening with the audience as well as the main characters being uncertain about the future. On a technical aspect, the films visual and sound effects are top notch with both going a long way in regards to enhancing the experience of being on the battlefront. One of the films key sequences involves MacKays character running across a battlefield full of explosions and gunfire, that's spectacularly well-done and manages to be a moment that's hard-hitting and powerful. If one thought Mendes did a phenomenal job with
Skyfall, they'll be even more impressed with his ability to craft a tight and well-executed war drama that has all the right feels to it in terms of being both exciting and genuinely gripping.
The films screenplay also written by Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns is handled just right with the film giving the appropriate amount of character development and exposition the story requires considering it all unfolds simultaneously. The film is a story about courage under fire with time being the true enemy of the plot as the clock ticks for the main characters. The themes that are most prevalent to the story are those pertaining to family, seeking honor, PTSD, courage, and hope. With the films story, Mendes and Cairns drive home the message that heroism is a noble trait that's not entirely pointless in war, though the latter is both senseless and horrific. The writers also make it a point to show that regardless of the consequences of war, there are those who just want to fight. Given that the films story plays on limited time, the screenplay utilizes that time well with every moment serving a purpose in the story along with further advancing the characters as well as the plot. Though some may complain about the lack of exposition or plot details, the script gets it down just right in terms of showing a moment of true heroism in the face of war without it ever feeling forced or contrived. The film aims to put the audience at the center of the story on the battlefield, and does so with utter brilliance and passion for telling it's story.
Given that most filmmakers focus on the second World War out of the two major ones for obvious reasons that it was a larger one in scope, it's still notable and gratifying to see a filmmaker as skillful and talented as Sam Mendes give audiences a timely reminder of what the first World War was like along with showing that heroism comes in many different forms. The team behind
1917 deserve major applauds for bringing this story to life on the big screen, making it feel larger than life along with messages within the story that still remain relevant today. The films action is as loud and impressive as the amount of heart and dedication that went into telling the story through the films writing, directing, and terrific performances from it's main cast. As far as War films go,
1917 is one of the best ones to come out in recent times as it's hard-hitting and manages to show the horrors of War through a new lense. It may not be the most developed and detailed War flick in terms of story, but it delivers on it's intent to bring the War to audiences in a way that makes it feel relatable and personal to them. On that level, Sam Mendes and the remarkable team behind
1917 succeed in creating a powerful story about going against the odds with glimmers of hope sprinkled throughout the story. In an era where Cinema is becoming more increasingly reliant on franchise-driven and comic book oriented films to cover the tentpole of new releases theaters, it's exceptionally satisfying to see a well-told and original story that shows how one can be selfless when it comes to saving the lives of others, have it's moment to shine on the big screen with the acclaim its received thus far. One hopes that the success of this film will encourage other studio and talented filmmakers to pursue more risks with bringing stories like this to the big screen with them achieving similar levels of success. As
1917 shows, war is hell and moments of pure bravery and true heroism should always be celebrated.
Final Verdict: For fans of the war film genre as well as Cinema lovers ad those looking for a powerful story that's well told,
1917 is a must see
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