On July 22, I went to my local cinema to watch the highly-anticipated film “Dunkirk”, which details the events of the Dunkirk evacuation from May to June 1940, during the Second World War. It’s fair to say that I was on the edge of my seat all the way through it, literally. Thanks a lot.
I mean this in a good way, of course. The film is absolutely brilliant. I can’t describe it any other way. It is perhaps one of the most thrilling experiences one could have watching a film, ever. I believe this is down to the work of Christopher Nolan, the film’s director and writer. I think we can all agree by the now that any film by Christopher Nolan is a good film, even a crap one like The Dark Knight Rises was okay. Yet this film blows all the others out of the water. Dunkirk is nothing anyone has seen on film before.
The film is told from three different perspectives with overlapping time periods: one week on land, one day at sea, and one hour in the air, are interwoven to create a non-linear narrative. On land, a group of soldiers on the Dunkirk beach can see their home across the channel but cannot get to it. On the sea, three civilians decide to help out and help bring some of these soldiers home. And in the air, two RAF pilots try to fight off German enemy planes from killing those soldiers. It’s certainly a heart-stopping experience to view. Nolan has cleverly interwoven these perspectives and periods, just well enough so that it makes sense and also makes the audience feel.
Apart from a fantastic non-linear narrative, the film also features a massive ensemble cast, both well established; Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh and newcomers; Fionn Whitehead, Jack Lowden, Tom Glynn-Carney, Aneurin Barnard, Barry Keoghan and Harry Styles. Yes, I wrote Harry Styles, who is not a newcomer to stardom but certainly is to acting. Nice risk-taking there Nolan. All of them play their parts incredibly well, even Harry surprisingly enough.
It’s been pointed out already, but the fact that these characters have no background (at least explained) and have very little dialogue is perhaps one of the best things about this film. It does not need any character development. It just wants you to want what those characters want; to survive, to get out quickly, to get back home. Along with survival, time is one of the main themes of the film, and that is very obvious. It’s never just a discussion in the film of how long it might take to get back across the English Channel, but Hans Zimmer’s beautiful, intense score created with the help of a stopwatch is perhaps one of the poignant and thrilling parts of the film. It never seems to end, and yet we don’t want it to.
Overall, the film should be watched. By everyone. Of course, in its heart, it’s a story of survival, but I see it as a reminder too, a reminder of what we should never get ourselves into again. Everyone who took part in creating this cinematic masterpiece should be very proud of themselves indeed.
What a film.
Grace Burgess 