{"id":6048,"date":"2016-06-14T07:35:59","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T02:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6048"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:29:44","slug":"1917-review-sam-mendes-roger-deakins-world-war-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=6048","title":{"rendered":"1917 Review: Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins Make Sure This is Not Just Another War Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"\nT<\/span>here is nothing that quite captures the urgency of being alive than a battle<\/span><\/a> film. In cinema, war becomes a stand-in for the unpredictability of life itself, tapping a reservoir of human emotions \u2013 commitment, bravery, fear, solidarity, pride, ego, and self-sabotage \u2013 that flow unhurried in one continuous take.\n\nIt wouldn\u2019t be inaccurate to presume that it\u2019s this point of view of battle that Sam Mendes wanted to replicate in 1917<\/span><\/i>, a World War I drama filmed to appear as if it occurs in one single shot, unruptured from its own umbilical cord. It\u2019s as poetic a flourish as it is a move that is unquestionably grandstanding. Yet, the film\u2019s stirring, thrilling technical fluency ensures that it never becomes a gimmick.\u00a0\n\nLike most war movies, 1917<\/span><\/i>, which is set in Northern France, is essentially a race against time. The participants are Lance Corporals Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), who\u2019ve been enlisted to traverse across enemy territory in under 24 hours to deliver a message to their fellow troops about to launch a self-destructive attack. The destination of the film\u2019s narrative is in the breathless journey of these two soldiers \u2014 across trenches, minefields, and <\/span>tragedy<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\n\n\"1917\"\n
\n

The craft of the film is its art \u2014 and this perhaps why I found it impossible to see 1917<\/em>\u2019s technical pluck as a separate entity, removed from the film\u2019s narrative.<\/p>\n

DreamWorks Pictures\/ Reliance Entertainment<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\nYet, as a story that wants to peddle the virtues of bravery and duty, 1917<\/span><\/i> is lacking. Mendes doesn\u2019t bother with politics or context, and save for a haunting cameo (by no less than the actor of the season, Andrew Scott) that gives away more than meets the eye, the film doesn\u2019t delve into the baggage that comes with <\/span>conflict<\/span><\/a> either.\u00a0\n\nAt the same time, it also seems futile to search for the film\u2019s emotional core in its language and not in its structure. The camera, that takes up space as the film\u2019s third protagonist, diligently tracking the two soldiers<\/span><\/a> \u2014 sometimes behind them, and at other times, beside them \u2014 single-handedly imbibing the proceedings with layers that replicate the urgency of something being at stake in every moment. The craft of the film is its art \u2014 and this perhaps why I found it impossible to see <\/span>1917\u2019s<\/span><\/i> technical pluck as a separate entity, removed from the film\u2019s narrative. It might be easy to say that <\/span>1917<\/span><\/i> is nothing without its elaborate, audacious cinematographic trickery, but that\u2019s a pointless accusation given that the film is clear in its insistence to locate itself in its visual grammar.\n\nThe art of 1917 <\/span><\/i>is in the craft of its filmmaking. That is to say that <\/span>1917 <\/span><\/i>isn\u2019t plotted as much as it is meticulously choreographed. The attention to detail is startlingly impressive, courtesy the seamless coalescing of the film\u2019s various technical departments. As the action moves from one hellish landscape to another, almost like a video game, the audience has no option but to find itself in the midst of chaos.\n\n

The art of 1917 is in the craft of its filmmaking. That is to say that 1917 isn\u2019t plotted as much as it is meticulously choreographed.<\/blockquote>\n\nThe film is shot by Roger Deakins, which in itself is enough endorsement, and worth the price of admission. Deakins is at his unvarnished best, infusing complexity and conflict into the narrative through the silhouette of war itself. There are sequences that are nothing short of masterpieces, like a post-interval moment where Deakins plays with light and shadows to recreate the recklessness of a chase in a way that seems inimitable. In another scene, the camera takes Schofield \u2013 and by extension, the audience \u2013 through a suffocating dive into the waters at dawn. This precise immersive quality of 1917<\/span><\/i> \u2014 it\u2019s almost impossible to blink \u2014 is derived as much from Mendes\u2019 singular ambition as his jaw-dropping devotion to execution.\n\nIt\u2019s also why it didn\u2019t bother me that 1917<\/span><\/i> is emotionally underwhelming, given that it sustains its drama through its fluid, nail-biting filmmaking. That the film doesn\u2019t spell out the horrors of war should barely be a minor annoyance. On their part, the film\u2019s leads, MacKay in particular (with his hypnotic face), turn in affecting performances that wear the nervous anxiety and helplessness that is expected when obliged to fight for the greater good. A spare conversation between Schofield and Blake, that refuses to mask the reluctant suffering of a soldier, is quietly moving.\n\nBut, the film\u2019s most intimate moment comes in its closing sequence: Schofield, spent and relieved, takes a moment to himself and rests against a tree, away from the noise of battle. He takes out a picture of his wife and daughters and stares at it longingly, a scene that wordlessly makes a distinction between duty and responsibility. It acquires an even greater meaning in light of the post-credit slate that reveals that the film is based loosely on stories of the director\u2019s grandfather\u2019s time in the war.\n\nA tribute to a life is one hell of an emotional anchor.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The attention to detail in 1917 is startlingly impressive, largely courtesy the seamless coalescing of the film\u2019s technical departments. As the action moves from one hellish landscape to another, the audience has no option but to find itself in the midst of chaos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":6051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[9998,8056,9999,1917,10000,10001,10002,10003,10004,10005,10006,10007],"class_list":["post-6048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-1917-review","tag-andrew-scott","tag-dean-charles-chapman","tag-gangs-of-new-york","tag-george-mackay","tag-lance-corporals-will-schofield","tag-mackay","tag-roger-deakins","tag-sam-mendes","tag-schofield","tag-tom-blake","tag-world-war-i"],"yoast_head":"\n1917 Review: Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins Make Sure This is Not Just Another War Movie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The attention to detail in 1917 is startlingly impressive, largely courtesy the seamless coalescing of the film\u2019s technical departments. 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