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There are maybe a sparse couple of moments throughout this movie that I wasn't completely engaged both times I watched it. The story is written out into three separate stories focused around Dunkirk that overlap and converge on eachother. The "main" story is that of a young man and his quiet companion as they attempt to get off the beach and back home any way possible. The lead character in this story is played by Fionn Whitehead who gives a very raw and subtle performance. It was a blast to watch this lesser known actor in this setting it added a bit of realism to the situation, which is all too soon ruined by One Direction's Harry Styles. I don't think Styles did a terrible job but to me it was just kind of a distraction from the movie my first time watching. The whole story that plays out from this perspective is amazing and also horrifying. You can feel the desperation of the young men who want nothing more but to make it home to their families.
The next story we’re introduced to is one that takes place in the skies. This story almost exclusively follows a British Fighter pilot played by Tom Hardy. This story is the least focused on as not a lot happens besides some dog fighting. The dog fighting however is excellent. The sound design in this film makes every moment very impactful, something I will delve into a little bit more. This story was super well written and I really like the way it closes off.
The third story is one that takes place from the perspective of a man, his son, and his sons friend. This is the most “plot” heavy storyline as it has the most character interaction and the least amount of interruptions from the actual war stuff going on. This story is fairly well written but I think the “sad” thing that happens is a little unnecessary. This story features Cillian Murphy and I have a soft spot for him as an actor so I still enjoyed his part in the whole thing. It was nice to have a storyline with a little more character driven stuff going on in the midst of all the chaos.
I don’t really want to drag this review on much longer so I’ll try and make this section concise. The film making and technical mastery here blows me away, but there is one thing I may still fail to understand. Many times as you watch this movie you will be captivated by a sort of “beautiful chaos” that takes your breath away. The range and scope demonstrated by Nolan in this film is something I haven’t experienced in a movie based in WW2 in awhile. I constantly imagined myself in these situations and how I would have no chance to survive and I think that's the feeling a movie like this should evoke. I have one complaint and one confusion on the technical side of the movie. My complaint is the sound mixing is kind of rough I found it extremely difficult to make out a pretty large amount of the dialogue. The confusion I have is Nolans abuse of aspect ratio in this film, I tried really hard to understand a purpose for it but couldn’t find one besides maybe just because stuff looks cooler in different aspect ratio. There is nothing wrong with that but I’m just curious if there was more purpose.
I think this is a very standout film of 2017 and it did something for me not many other films have. There aren't many complaints to have due to how little really “happens”. This movie is almost purely a technical and visual journey and all of that is done so well. The plot is thin but there is nothing wrong with that because the movie doesn't try to make you care about characters, it evokes empathy and humanity that some thin plot could never do. The downside to a movie like this is once a movie that is made technically better then this one it becomes somewhat outdated, unlike a great story that is ageless. It’s a great movie, watch it if you haven’t.
Dunkirk (2017)
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Plot SynopsisDirected By: Christopher Nolan
Belgian, French and British troops are surrounded by the German army. They make a desperate attempt at escape at Dunkirk.Christopher Nolan is incredible at making action films that are intensely engaging. He demonstrated that in the past with The Dark Night (2008), Inception (2010), Dark Night Rises (2012) and Interstellar (2014) and he has come back and done it again with Dunkirk. Nolan's films demand the viewer be on the edge of their seat, they completely captivate you moment to moment, and Dunkirk is no exception.
There are maybe a sparse couple of moments throughout this movie that I wasn't completely engaged both times I watched it. The story is written out into three separate stories focused around Dunkirk that overlap and converge on eachother. The "main" story is that of a young man and his quiet companion as they attempt to get off the beach and back home any way possible. The lead character in this story is played by Fionn Whitehead who gives a very raw and subtle performance. It was a blast to watch this lesser known actor in this setting it added a bit of realism to the situation, which is all too soon ruined by One Direction's Harry Styles. I don't think Styles did a terrible job but to me it was just kind of a distraction from the movie my first time watching. The whole story that plays out from this perspective is amazing and also horrifying. You can feel the desperation of the young men who want nothing more but to make it home to their families.
The next story we’re introduced to is one that takes place in the skies. This story almost exclusively follows a British Fighter pilot played by Tom Hardy. This story is the least focused on as not a lot happens besides some dog fighting. The dog fighting however is excellent. The sound design in this film makes every moment very impactful, something I will delve into a little bit more. This story was super well written and I really like the way it closes off.
The third story is one that takes place from the perspective of a man, his son, and his sons friend. This is the most “plot” heavy storyline as it has the most character interaction and the least amount of interruptions from the actual war stuff going on. This story is fairly well written but I think the “sad” thing that happens is a little unnecessary. This story features Cillian Murphy and I have a soft spot for him as an actor so I still enjoyed his part in the whole thing. It was nice to have a storyline with a little more character driven stuff going on in the midst of all the chaos.
I don’t really want to drag this review on much longer so I’ll try and make this section concise. The film making and technical mastery here blows me away, but there is one thing I may still fail to understand. Many times as you watch this movie you will be captivated by a sort of “beautiful chaos” that takes your breath away. The range and scope demonstrated by Nolan in this film is something I haven’t experienced in a movie based in WW2 in awhile. I constantly imagined myself in these situations and how I would have no chance to survive and I think that's the feeling a movie like this should evoke. I have one complaint and one confusion on the technical side of the movie. My complaint is the sound mixing is kind of rough I found it extremely difficult to make out a pretty large amount of the dialogue. The confusion I have is Nolans abuse of aspect ratio in this film, I tried really hard to understand a purpose for it but couldn’t find one besides maybe just because stuff looks cooler in different aspect ratio. There is nothing wrong with that but I’m just curious if there was more purpose.
I think this is a very standout film of 2017 and it did something for me not many other films have. There aren't many complaints to have due to how little really “happens”. This movie is almost purely a technical and visual journey and all of that is done so well. The plot is thin but there is nothing wrong with that because the movie doesn't try to make you care about characters, it evokes empathy and humanity that some thin plot could never do. The downside to a movie like this is once a movie that is made technically better then this one it becomes somewhat outdated, unlike a great story that is ageless. It’s a great movie, watch it if you haven’t.