So here we are; at the start of a new decade... following an exceptional year for film in 2019. Here is the first major film released in the UK for 2020. Sam Mendes' 1917.
This was among my most anticipated movies of last year after seeing the excellent trailers and the short youtube features on the making of this extremely ambitious project. I could not wait to sink my teeth into what surely was going to be a film made for film-lovers, as it is told entirely through the illusion of being one long continuous shot.
The story is based partly on an account told to director Sam Mendes by his grandfather Alfred Mendes. It follows two young British officers (given the names Will Schofield and Tom Blake) in the Spring of 1917 (obviously), given a highly dangerous mission to delivering a message behind the German line. It warns of an ambush during a skirmish shortly after the germans retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich.
So, does this film deliver on it's promise of intense action told through this very ambitious delivery.
Let's see shall we? Positives to start:
POSITIVES:
A Gimmick that Pays Off Big-Time!
One shot... or at least the illusion of it. Sam Mendes, Roger Deakins and (Editor) Lee Smith deliver on the promise of an immersive experience through the medium of no camera cutting. The film could very easily have coasted on it's one-shot gimmick but they used it in a major way.
With hundreds of extras, minimal cgi, not too mention being almost entirely shot OUTSIDE, this long tracking style works in every way. You can tell a lot was left to actors to improvise, in terms of movements and reactions. It works like theatre, but in all the right ways! I was intentionally looking for those obvious moments where cuts could have been made (walking into a pitch black room, camera conveniently bumping into something), and I'm so thrilled by how few there were. I counted maybe five in the whole film. With a feature-length run time, that's completely mindblowing! A gamble that paid off big time. Terrific!
Completely Stunning Cinematography:
Roger freaking Deakins... need I say more? More cinematography Oscar nods than anyone else and for good reason. His use of space, depth of field, shade and colour is absolutely stunning and will surely clinch him the Academy Award this year. The daytime shots are terrific, with a dangerous journey through No-Mans Land being a highlight here; dark, disgusting and visually haunting, it's a treat to watch. However the best shots in recent film history come later on, after the sun goes down. The night sequence in a burning french village is stunning. My jaw was on the floor the whole time; With cinders flying out of burning buildings, creating shadows moving around our actors, this whole sequence is completely stunning and worthy of the Oscar alone. The whole films use of motion and depth is so beautiful to watch. As a cinephile this was an absolute dream.
An Incredible Score:
After Marriage Story last year, I assumed that Randy Newman's name was secure for a Best Score Oscar nod. Little did I think, considering how amazing that score was, that his cousin Thomas Newman would then surpass him. With all the walking time, and silence as our characters get from A to B, the score was given so much time to not only breathe but build. The burning village sequence has little to no dialogue but you notice the incredible music building into an epic frenzy, complimenting the destructive scale of the set and the amazing acting. The pace of the film changes frequently but the score keeps us engaged throughout with heartstring-pulling gentleness, heart pounding tension and heart breaking sorrow. The best aspect however is that in a world of average, forgettable soundtracks, this one has themes which are MEMORABLE! That alone is a treat for anyone who loves film music. Thomas Newman should not only clinch but swipe the Oscar for 1917. A truly wonderful and epic score.
Sam Mendes' Direction:
As far as cinematography goes, I've already gushed at length, but Mendes' direction here is breathtaking too. His pace shifting from dialogue to silence, action to relieve, laughter to tears, it's wonderfully diverse. The way the camera moves around, always catching the right moment at the right angle is extremely difficult to pull off in a long tracking shot style, especially when the actors are occasionally improvising to match their environment. His control over chaos is astounding; giving extras the opportunity to slam into our lead actors, knocking them over, simply because they were in the way and allowing natural reactive dialogue to fill time where the action is heaviest.
It's a near-perfect job all round from the teams involved in acting, direction, camerawork, cinematography, music and sound. Pulling together a major achievement, and one that moviegoers can enjoy watching repeatedly. Bravo!
NEGATIVES:
An Underused All-Star Cast:
This is the definition of nitpicking as the film follows our two lead actors for the entire story so naturally people slip in and out of the plot as they travel to deliver the message. However, with a cast consisting of Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Andrew Scott, they do fly by very quickly. This does not hinder the film's delivery in any way whatsoever, but for those of you who look at the cast and get excited, they are used sparingly.
A Promotional Lie
Another intense nitpick as it actually provides a great moment in the film but when you say the film is giving the illusion of one shot, don't then have a hard cut in the middle of the film... thus making it more of a 'two-shot'. There is a moment where one of our lead characters gets knocked out and the screen cuts to a hard black. Then when he wakes up we return to the story. This is the smallest nitpick as the whole audience let out a gasp when it happened, so congrats to the team for fooling us there. Still, shame on you.
*Also side-note, there's a scene where our leads arrive at a camp of British soldiers listening to a song and, since said soldiers are not expecting anyone to appear, imagine my surprise when they don't react in any way at all to this appearance. You'd think soldiers would have a better response time to anything out of the ordinary, but that could just be me. End of side-note.*
FINAL VERDICT:
Overall 1917 is completely spectacular. Both a super tense, emotional thrill ride with amazing music for the average movie viewer as well as a treat for filmmaking nuts who just want to gawk, ooh and aah at amazing artistry and delivery.
I may not have mentioned the acting in either the positives or negatives, but that's because this film isn't about actors being good at acting, it's about the audience being completely immersed in a story with amazing visuals, great performances, interesting characters, tension and several epic moments that I truly believe will go down in history as iconic moments in film.
I thought 2019 was a great film year... but if 1917 is anything to go by, the coming year is looking very, very bright as well.
This is both my pick for Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards, and a contender for my new favourite war movie ever made.
Do. Not. Miss. This. Film!
This was among my most anticipated movies of last year after seeing the excellent trailers and the short youtube features on the making of this extremely ambitious project. I could not wait to sink my teeth into what surely was going to be a film made for film-lovers, as it is told entirely through the illusion of being one long continuous shot.
The story is based partly on an account told to director Sam Mendes by his grandfather Alfred Mendes. It follows two young British officers (given the names Will Schofield and Tom Blake) in the Spring of 1917 (obviously), given a highly dangerous mission to delivering a message behind the German line. It warns of an ambush during a skirmish shortly after the germans retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich.
So, does this film deliver on it's promise of intense action told through this very ambitious delivery.
Let's see shall we? Positives to start:
POSITIVES:
A Gimmick that Pays Off Big-Time!
One shot... or at least the illusion of it. Sam Mendes, Roger Deakins and (Editor) Lee Smith deliver on the promise of an immersive experience through the medium of no camera cutting. The film could very easily have coasted on it's one-shot gimmick but they used it in a major way.
With hundreds of extras, minimal cgi, not too mention being almost entirely shot OUTSIDE, this long tracking style works in every way. You can tell a lot was left to actors to improvise, in terms of movements and reactions. It works like theatre, but in all the right ways! I was intentionally looking for those obvious moments where cuts could have been made (walking into a pitch black room, camera conveniently bumping into something), and I'm so thrilled by how few there were. I counted maybe five in the whole film. With a feature-length run time, that's completely mindblowing! A gamble that paid off big time. Terrific!
Completely Stunning Cinematography:
Roger freaking Deakins... need I say more? More cinematography Oscar nods than anyone else and for good reason. His use of space, depth of field, shade and colour is absolutely stunning and will surely clinch him the Academy Award this year. The daytime shots are terrific, with a dangerous journey through No-Mans Land being a highlight here; dark, disgusting and visually haunting, it's a treat to watch. However the best shots in recent film history come later on, after the sun goes down. The night sequence in a burning french village is stunning. My jaw was on the floor the whole time; With cinders flying out of burning buildings, creating shadows moving around our actors, this whole sequence is completely stunning and worthy of the Oscar alone. The whole films use of motion and depth is so beautiful to watch. As a cinephile this was an absolute dream.
An Incredible Score:
After Marriage Story last year, I assumed that Randy Newman's name was secure for a Best Score Oscar nod. Little did I think, considering how amazing that score was, that his cousin Thomas Newman would then surpass him. With all the walking time, and silence as our characters get from A to B, the score was given so much time to not only breathe but build. The burning village sequence has little to no dialogue but you notice the incredible music building into an epic frenzy, complimenting the destructive scale of the set and the amazing acting. The pace of the film changes frequently but the score keeps us engaged throughout with heartstring-pulling gentleness, heart pounding tension and heart breaking sorrow. The best aspect however is that in a world of average, forgettable soundtracks, this one has themes which are MEMORABLE! That alone is a treat for anyone who loves film music. Thomas Newman should not only clinch but swipe the Oscar for 1917. A truly wonderful and epic score.
Sam Mendes' Direction:
As far as cinematography goes, I've already gushed at length, but Mendes' direction here is breathtaking too. His pace shifting from dialogue to silence, action to relieve, laughter to tears, it's wonderfully diverse. The way the camera moves around, always catching the right moment at the right angle is extremely difficult to pull off in a long tracking shot style, especially when the actors are occasionally improvising to match their environment. His control over chaos is astounding; giving extras the opportunity to slam into our lead actors, knocking them over, simply because they were in the way and allowing natural reactive dialogue to fill time where the action is heaviest.
It's a near-perfect job all round from the teams involved in acting, direction, camerawork, cinematography, music and sound. Pulling together a major achievement, and one that moviegoers can enjoy watching repeatedly. Bravo!
NEGATIVES:
An Underused All-Star Cast:
This is the definition of nitpicking as the film follows our two lead actors for the entire story so naturally people slip in and out of the plot as they travel to deliver the message. However, with a cast consisting of Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Andrew Scott, they do fly by very quickly. This does not hinder the film's delivery in any way whatsoever, but for those of you who look at the cast and get excited, they are used sparingly.
A Promotional Lie
Another intense nitpick as it actually provides a great moment in the film but when you say the film is giving the illusion of one shot, don't then have a hard cut in the middle of the film... thus making it more of a 'two-shot'. There is a moment where one of our lead characters gets knocked out and the screen cuts to a hard black. Then when he wakes up we return to the story. This is the smallest nitpick as the whole audience let out a gasp when it happened, so congrats to the team for fooling us there. Still, shame on you.
*Also side-note, there's a scene where our leads arrive at a camp of British soldiers listening to a song and, since said soldiers are not expecting anyone to appear, imagine my surprise when they don't react in any way at all to this appearance. You'd think soldiers would have a better response time to anything out of the ordinary, but that could just be me. End of side-note.*
FINAL VERDICT:
Overall 1917 is completely spectacular. Both a super tense, emotional thrill ride with amazing music for the average movie viewer as well as a treat for filmmaking nuts who just want to gawk, ooh and aah at amazing artistry and delivery.
I may not have mentioned the acting in either the positives or negatives, but that's because this film isn't about actors being good at acting, it's about the audience being completely immersed in a story with amazing visuals, great performances, interesting characters, tension and several epic moments that I truly believe will go down in history as iconic moments in film.
I thought 2019 was a great film year... but if 1917 is anything to go by, the coming year is looking very, very bright as well.
This is both my pick for Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards, and a contender for my new favourite war movie ever made.
Do. Not. Miss. This. Film!