1917 Review

1917 dir. Sam Mendes (2019)

I finally got to see 1917 to cap off my best of 2019 cramming. It was cheap Tuesday so it was in a theatre with a large quantity of old-man friend pairs and it was adorable. I bet they will all be discussing the movie at Tim Hortons or McDonalds in the morning; y’know, depending on what clique they belong to. It has 10 Oscar nominations, is in IMDB’s Top 50 already, and was on many a critic’s end of the year list. After getting excited when I heard about the project, then getting worried when I heard about the ‘one-take’ style it would be shot in, finally I have found that the movie is fine. It’s just fine.

This is a huge disappointment as we don’t get a ton of big-budget war movies anymore, and usually WWI stands in the shadow of the much more morally clean-cut WWII. I would say the biggest issue is the one-take conceit, it’s a neat formal experiment, but rarely serves the narrative well. The much touched-on theme of the horrors of war is done a disservice, as we lose any ability to get in really close to anything. The best we get are swooping shots past some of the horrific sights. Early on they are pointed to a rotting corpse as a directional marker and have to pass right by him. He is only gazed upon briefly from a distance as the camera floats over the barbed wire. Because we are limited to this floating gaze, we don’t actually get to see what being in a thicket of barbed wire is like, therefore the ostensible reason for using this method is defeated, we are passengers floating along comfortably rather than in the shit with Scofield and Blake.

The movie stars a pair of up-and-coming young actors, Dean-Charles Chapman (Blake), Tommen Baratheon himself, and George MacKay of Pride and Marrowbone (Scofield). MacKay is a terrific actor, and Chapman is on his way, but the two don’t get a whole lot to do beyond react to things. Chapman is chatty, and Scofield is sullen, and battle hardened. They have a brief discussion about the merits of medals in war, as Blake shows his idealism is still intact, and Scofield is jaded. This dichotomy interesting, and has major repercussions on the story, but is not really explored as the film turns to rely on some well-worn war movie tropes instead of exploring new ground. You will recognize some of the pastiche scenes from other films. Maybe more than the self-defeating ‘one-take’ style, this is the film’s greatest sin, it has nothing new to say.

That is not to say the film is all bad. Roger Deakins is the greatest living cinematographer we have, and he manages to frame some beautiful, and some horrifying images despite the limitations of the formal exercise. There are a couple of truly breathtaking shots that would have only been more powerful had they not been surrounded by constantly moving camera. Mendes also does a fairly good job of examining the massive scope of the trench systems during the war. This is where the constant follow-shots come in handy, though still often feel like watching someone play a video game. The film is also pleasantly short, which seems like the most backhanded compliment possible, but in a time when movies run past two hours willy-nilly, it’s refreshing that some filmmakers are choosing to be more concise. This helps the film avoid overstaying its welcome, and with a bravura shot, and an emotional end, it manages to wrap up in a satisfying manner.

So it was not bad, but it was far from great. I really hope this “one take” experiment is over. I have yet to see a use of it that has really elevated the film. The stitch cuts in The Revenant were jarring, it did nothing to really aid Victoria, it was an almost insultingly arrogant way to end Long Day’s Journey Into Night (though I didn’t get to experience it in 3D), it just rarely has it’s place. Long takes can be absolutely incredibly, can make a scene, or add a lot to a film, but these narratively unmotivated single take experiments should be done with.

*I will say the use of it in The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open might be the best use this year, but I’m still not sure it was necessary or an improvement.