1917 Review (No spoilers)
VIDEO REVIEW HERE
Sam Mendes is perhaps best known for his directorial debut film, American Beauty. Setting aside it’s problematic lead, Kevin Spacey, this film and several that released that same year, helped to shape alot of my preference and understanding of movies.
So, it seems a beautifully fitting arc in my own personal story that Mendes has now written and directed the very best piece of cinema I’ve ever been privileged enough to watch, 1917.
I cannot overstate the impact that this movie had on me. It was gripping and wonderfully thoughtful with lead actors Dean Charles-Chapman and George MacKay delivering some of the most believable performances I’ve ever watched. I fell in love with their characters within the first 15 minutes. If you are debating waiting to see this movie at home, don’t. You owe it to yourself to experience this masterpiece in filmmaking on the big screen. This is a movie that I drove two hours away to the closest Alamo Drafthouse to see and I would absolutely do so again.
Why did I not watch in Amarillo?
Drafthouse makes people leave if they talk or play around on their phones during the film. Knowing I can watch a movie like this without the risk of some asshole ruining a pivotal scene with his inane commentary or a random snapchat to both of his friends, is worth travelling and spending a little extra for. Please, watch it on the best screen you have available to you. (See if there’s a Drafthouse near you: Here)
I don’t like reviews that go too much into plot, as I believe that’s what has killed my enjoyment of trailers in the last several years. So I’ll be avoiding any major spoilers in the story and will instead focus on discussing why this was such a marvel of artistry.
*On the note of film trailers, I want to point out that this particular movie has one of the best trailers I’ve seen in years. Succinct, at roughly 2 minutes and 30 seconds, it rounds out the goal of the protagonists (to deliver an emergency order to a general to stop 1600 troops from walking into a trap) and shows just enough of the film to allow us, as the audience, to get a taste for what’s to come. It spoils nothing and uses an eerie recording of wayfaring stranger to fantastic effect. I’ll link it here if you missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqNYrYUiMfg
You have likely heard by now that this was filmed in one continuous take(*** filmed to appear as though it was***). A trend that seemed to gain mainstream notoriety with the release of BirdMan in 2014, but that has been used with varying effect in many films throughout the decades. I think, many times, this can be a gimmick and come across as the cinematographer flexing their muscle just to flex. When it doesn’t further the story, it just looks like gold flakes on top of your food: cool, but super unnecessary.
This is 100% not the case in 1917. The single take nature of the film aids in our connection to the characters. We never leave their side throughout the entire 119 minute runtime and the desperation so perfectly acted by Charles-Chapman and MacKay causes the screen and theater itself to melt away. Instead of watching these two soldiers traverse the trenches and horrifying battlements, we are there with them. Every struggle and triumph and tragedy is felt profoundly and exhaustingly, as there is never a moment in which a cut can remind us that we are viewing actors through a lens.
This is the reason pacing is so important for a film of this nature and Mendes completely nailed the rise and fall rhythm of this perfect symphony of cinematographic storytelling. It’s not one long action sequence or a two hour gauntlet of tension. There’s release, and pause and reflection and just enough air to account for the nervous system of the audience members. At the end of the film I was exhausted emotionally and physically but never felt abused. Mendes wielded his power with care and purpose and 1917 is all the better for his deft control of the narrative.
I’m gushing, so I will leave you this thought: I recently saw someone comment on twitter as to why we needed to tell this story again. Questioning the merit of war films in 2020. There are a great number of beautiful stories to tell and each of us walks a life rich with unique moments and interesting arcs truly worthy of being told. However, 1917 tells a story with a different kind of importance. The folly of men resulting in the deaths of children, the upending of civilization by powerful people at the cost of those less powerful. It’s a familiar and bitter tale that has to be told repeatedly, and from many perspectives, to remind us of the very simple truth: This will happen again, and the people that will die are just like you and me. They have families, and friendships and hobbies and as we watch through our TV screens as our country wins or loses, it’s so valuable and important to have people like Mendes reminding us not just to hero worship the troops, but to humanize the cost of battle.
Please see this film. Please support art of this caliber. Thanks Sam. This was a beautiful journey.
PS. Once you have watched this film I encourage you to check out the short 12 minute featurette here about how they filmed this movie. (WATCH IT)
