1917

Sam Mendes’ ambitious Oscar-winning film is hard to pigeon-hole, as it’s far more of an epic character-based thriller than a traditional war film.  Equally, it’s difficult to separate the message from the medium – would the story have had the same impact without the audacious decision to shoot the film as a single, continuous shot?  Either way, there’s no denying that 1917 is an immersive cinematic experience unlike any other.

Premise:  In April 1917, British World War I soldiers Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) are sent on a mission into No Man’s Land to deliver orders calling off an impending attack that would see 1,600 British soldiers, including Blake’s brother, caught in a German trap.

Review:

What really separates 1917 from any other similar war films is Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes’ decision to present the entire film as one, continuous shot.  When it was first announced, opinion seemed split between those who thought this was a daring filmmaking decision, and those who worried it would be a distracting gimmick.  But whatever your initial thoughts were on Mendes’ decision, there’s no denying that the one-shot format results in a visceral, intimate and engaging viewing experience that sets 1917 apart from any of its peers.

There are two ways of judging the success of the one-shot format; how it works on a technical level, and how it effects the viewing experience and story.  In terms of the former, 1917 is a stunning piece of filmmaking.  Of course, the whole film wasn’t actually filmed in one continuous shot, but even knowing that it was filmed in a (currently unconfirmed) number of separate long-takes doesn’t detract from the sheer magnitude of the technical accomplishment.  Even if you assume that the film was broken down into separate long-takes, each in the region of (I’m speculating) 10-20 minutes, each of those long-takes would still have involved a breath-taking amount of planning and choreography.

“…as a piece of technical filming making, it’s an unqualified success…”

The film covers the soldiers’ journey, in real time, from the trenches of the Front Line and then out across No Man’s Land.  All this time, the camera is never static, flowing gracefully in front, behind, around and over the travelling soldiers, in what must have been a mammoth task of logistical planning.  The number of moving parts – actors, camera operators, hundreds of extras, practical effects – that had to come together with perfect timing to pull this off is mind-blowing, as so as a piece of technical filming making, 1917 is an unqualified success (and for which Sam Mendes justifiably won the Best Director awards from BAFTA, the Golden Globes and the DGA).

But arguably, all of its technical brilliance would have been wasted if the story itself, and the audience’s viewing experience, had been harmed as a result.  No one (other than technical film aficionados, perhaps) wants to see an emotionally unengaging film just because it used some interesting filming techniques.

“…generates an intimacy between the audience & the characters that almost literally puts you in their shoes…”

In this regard, it is fair to say that the one-shot format is a little distracting – but only at the beginning.  When we first meet Blake and Schofield, there’s about 5-10 minutes of them moving up and down the British trenches, where the camera has no space to do much more than either follow in front or behind them, which makes you very aware of the limitations of the one-shot format.  Equally, when they are briefed on their mission by General Erinmore (Colin Firth), the one-shot format feels a little contrived, as the camera refuses to cutaway to the maps and other items than the General is referring to, and we’re left looking at people’s backs during two-way conversations.

But I’m sure that this early phase was intentionally staged this way to give the audience time to adjust to the one-shot format, because as soon as Blake and Schofield go over the top into No Man’s Land, I was suddenly no longer distracted at all by the continuous shot technique.  Freed of the restrictions of the narrow trenches, the camera was able to glide in and around the characters, and it puts the audience right into the middle of the action.  When they go over the top, you can’t see any more than they can until they’ve cleared the barricades; when they enter a new location, you’re discovering it at the same time as they are; when they encounter danger, you have no more idea where the threat is coming from than they do.  It makes you a part of their experience, generating an intimacy between the audience and the characters that almost literally puts you in their shoes.

“…you’re right there with the characters in amongst the mud & the barbed wire, with potential danger lurking around every corner…”

So far from being a distraction, once the film really gets going the one-shot format is an essential part of the viewing experience, so that you’re there alongside the men on their dangerous mission.  The one-shot format also means that everything happens in “real time”, so the ticking-clock pressure created by the knowledge that if the orders aren’t delivered in time hundreds of soldiers (including Blake’s brother) will be killed, ratchets up the tension even further.  For a war film, there’s surprisingly little combat – but you don’t need massive battles to generate tension when you’re right there with the characters in amongst the mud and the barbed wire, and potential danger lurks around every corner.  This film is perhaps the very definition of edge-of-the-seat viewing, and although it’s just under two hours long, the sustained and unrelenting tension that’s generated in “real time” makes it feel like you’ve genuinely fought your way across No Man’s Land by the end too.

The film is carried by the performances of Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay, who are both incredible and more than up to meeting the challenges presented by the film’s unique format.  Dean-Charles Chapman plays the outwardly more confident Blake, but his confidence is arguably a mask for his naivety, whereas George MacKay is fantastic at conveying the inner trauma Schofield, a veteran of the Somme who’s seen more of the realities of war.

“…includes some of the most visually impressive, nightmarish & surreal shots I have seen for some time…”

The two leads are supported by some of the UK’s greatest character actors, who each pop up for probably no more than a couple of minutes of screen-time each (if that, in some cases).  Of course, with actors as talented as Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Mark Strong, Daniel Mays and Adrian Scarborough, they don’t need more than a couple of minutes to make their presence felt, and to add weight and authority to their characters.

I also wanted to mention Roger Deakins’ incredible cinematography work, for which he rightly won this year’s Oscar.  Not only is his work generally impressive throughout the film, but there’s a particular scene involving a burning village and overhead flares that includes some of the most visually impressive, nightmarish and surreal shots I have seen for some time.

“…an immersive cinematic experience that really should be enjoyed on the big screen…”

Overall, this is not a “war” film that glamorises its subject matter (it’s no coincidence that the message the main characters are carrying is one that will prevent a battle and needless loss of life), but it is a tribute to the men who found themselves trapped in such a pointlessly tragic situation.  Even from the perspectives of the characters themselves, their goal is simply to survive and make it home, rather than any grand notions of winning the war.

For me, the decision to present the film as a single continuous shot is what elevates it from other, similarly gritty and realistic war films of recent years.  Not only is it an amazing technical achievement, but it gives the film an emotional intimacy that (I personally felt) was lacking, for example, in Christopher Nolan’s similarly epic Dunkirk.  An immersive cinematic experience that really should be enjoyed on the big screen if at all possible.