1917 Review

Without a doubt, 1917 is the technological feat of 2019. There, I said it. The film is extraordinarily good, which should be no surprise since it comes from the mind of Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition, Skyfall), who in my opinion only has one not so great film: Spectre. It is also a movie that should be seen in the theater. I know I said that Uncut Gems was probably the most stressed I have been in a movie theater ever, but 1917 gives that experience a run for its money. We, the audience, are with these two British soldiers, played by Dean-Charles Chapman (Game of Thrones, The King) and George MacKay (Captain Fantastic, 11.22.63) on a suicide mission to save 1,600 lives through one of the most dangerous battlegrounds in human history. The experience, to say the least, is intense.

Lance Corporal Blake (played by Chapman) is a British soldier in WWI, and he is tasked with a mission, which he unwittingly pulls his buddy, Lance Corporal Schofield (played by MacKay), into as well. The mission: go behind enemy lines to call off an attack because of a trap laid by the German army. The kicker: one of the men in the company that is set to attack is Blake’s brother. If you are unfamiliar with WWI and the grave fighting situation, then I will give you a small history lesson. Trench warfare was a no-holds-barred stalemate resulting in the loss of a reported 12 million lives. Essentially one side would attack and gain some ground, then the other side would attack and gain the ground back, and this literally went on for almost 4 years. It was a nasty situation and it is depicted exceedingly well in 1917.

The first thing that needs to be talked about is Roger Deakins’s (Blade Runner 2049, No Country for Old Men) excellent cinematography. The film is shot and edited to appear as one continuously flowing shot. This was achieved with clever storyboarding & editing as well as a bunch of long takes. The daytime shots are gritty and recall what a color version of Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory would look like, while the nighttime and interior trench shots use shadows and complete darkness to add to the suspense and intensity of the film. I will be truly awestruck if Roger Deakins doesn’t win another Academy Award this year. Like its predecessor Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), which was also shot and edited to appear as one long take, 1917 is utterly unique and bold. Emmanuel Lubezki won the Academy Award in 2015 for his groundbreaking work on Birdman and I believe Deakins is a shoe in this year.

The direction in the film is absolutely phenomenal. It’s no fluke that Sam Mendes won the Golden Globe for Best Director, because with a film of this scale the direction had to be on point, otherwise it just wouldn’t have worked. The number of extras, set designs, special effects, etc. is daunting, and without Mendes’s precise direction the film couldn’t have achieved its unique flowing cinematography. From the beginning of the film it feels like these two soldiers are walking a tightrope and throughout the film it’s as if that tightrope is getting thinner and increasing in elevation. He wrote the film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Last Night in Soho, Penny Dreadful) and the film is inspired by Mendes’s grandfather’s (Alfred H. Mendes) experiences in WWI.

The score is composed by Thomas Newman (Skyfall, American Beauty), cousin of Randy Newman, who scored Marriage Story this year. Thomas Newman has been nominated for a whopping 14 Oscars! Do I think he will win this year? No. The simple reason why is that Hildur Guðnadóttir, who scored Todd Phillips’ Joker, has way too much steam going into the Oscars. I think it’s a foregone conclusion that she will take home the Oscar for Best Score this year. However, that doesn’t take anything away from Newman’s extremely emotional score. I’ve always gone back and forth on whether it is the actor’s physical actions or the musical score which creates the emotional pull of a film. I think the answer, at least in 1917’s case, is simple: it’s a combination of the two. There are several moments in this film where the lack of score creates the same palpable emotions that the score itself creates. That’s part of the required genius of a musical composer, knowing when to allow the film to just be. Thomas Newman is an extremely talented composer. His awards are no fluke, and the musical score for 1917 is the proof in the pudding.

Enough can’t be said about Chapman and MacKay’s performances. Although it is unlikely they will get too many acting nominations, as the race is extremely tight, they clearly have talent. Their performances make the entire film feel as if the stakes are real. The violence is extremely realistic and the obstacles they must overcome are astronomical and horrifying. Having been in the military myself I related with the ball-busting camaraderie they both had with one another. One second they can be joking about masturbation and the very next they are deadly serious, covering each other’s backs with a trained precision. I’m sure many veterans will be able to relate with this movie… more on that later. There were several big-name actors playing small supporting characters, including Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, A Single Man), Andrew Scott (BBC’s Sherlock, Spectre), Benedict Cumberbatch (Avengers: Endgame, The Imitation Game), and Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kick-Ass). The real emphasis is on Lance Corporals Blake and Schofield and their bond as soldiers and friends, but without such good supporting characters/actors the film easily could have lost its footing early on.

1917 is truly an experience to be had in the theater. Not only is the cinematography fantastic, but the sound design is made to be heard in a theater, where a bullet can come from any direction. I would issue a warning to veterans with combat experience as this film is an extremely good example of why soldiers come home with PTSD. It is very intimately shot and the sound effects all feel very close quarters, as if we are right there with Blake and Schofield. I unknowingly sat next to a Vietnam veteran during the film and afterwards we talked a bit, but when he told me he served in Vietnam I asked him if he was okay, because the film is very intense. He thanked me and also told me a story which was very inspiring and emotional, which made me think as veterans it’s our duty to look out for one another… and go to the VA for goodness sake! Don’t wait until tomorrow, go today, they are there to help, even if it can be a flawed system at times. Okay, back to the review. Imagine the intensity and reality of Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan of WWII and you will reach a good comparison for the portrayal of WWI in 1917. It is easily one of, if not the best, films of the year, and it’s one of the best war films I have ever seen. Do yourself a favor and see this one before it leaves theaters!

MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence, some disturbing images, and language
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Produced By: Amblin Partners, DreamWorks, Neal Street Productions, New Republic Pictures