Film Review: Dunkirk (2017)

We will fight them on the beaches . . .

Dunkirk (12A)

Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy

Director: Christopher Nolan

The Plot: A dramatisation of real-life events from the Second World War. Allied forces of Britain, France and Belgium have been beaten back to the coastal city of Dunkirk and surrounded. Outnumbered, with little air support and their naval forces being decimated, a desperate call goes out for British civilian vessels to cross the Channel and evacuate their soldiers.

Review: At this point in time a new film from Christopher Nolan is always a big event. The director has produced such a fantastic body of work that his name has become pretty synonymous with quality, so expectations were high for a film from him dealing with WWII. I'm pleased to report that all expectations have been met - this is a fantastic, gripping film that's worthy of the praise that's being heaped upon it. But, for me, it wasn't quite perfect.

The film is split between three different story threads: in one we follow Tommy (Whitehead), a British soldier at Dunkirk who desperately tries any and all methods to get himself onto one of the navy ships heading home but finds himself constantly thwarted. In another we follow Mr Dawson (Rylance), an older civilian who, along with his son, takes his boat on a perilous trip across the Channel to help. In the third thread we follow Farrier (Hardy), a Spitfire pilot headed across the Channel engaging any German planes he encounters. What's interesting is how these three threads intertwine, with each one taking place over a different period of time: Tommy's a week, Mr Dawson's a day, and Farrier's just an hour. It's not until later in the film when the characters begin to cross paths that this becomes more obvious and effective, and it was a fantastic choice in terms of pacing.   

The performances are something of a mixed bag. The three leads are all very good; Whitehead, as Tommy, is a character that felt shifty - despite him being a British soldier, it's hard to get behind him given some of the questionable choices he makes, and he puts in the right mix of despair and dirt. Rylance gives a diginified performance as Mr Dawson, a quiet character but a real beacon of strength to others, but for me Hardy gives the best performance as Farrier, despite spending a great deal of time hidden behind a mask (again!). He remains cool and composed even as his loses comrades and his own plane is damaged, and for most of his screen time it's only his eyes and voice that portray his determination. This guy is just fucking cool. The minor characters is where I felt let down: as a naval commander, Kenneth Branagh isn't really given much to do except stand on a pier and look worried, something he could do in his sleep. I wasn't very impressed with Cillian Murphy (who is usually excellent) as the shellshocked soldier that Mr Dawson rescues, there was just something about him that didn't work for me that's hard to put into words, and the actor who plays the young lad George that tags along with Mr Dawson was just plain awful.

An interesting decision that Nolan must have made for the film is the violence, or rather, the lack of it. That's not to say there aren't action sequences - there are - but there's very little graphic shots of death and destruction and that's reflected in the 12A rating here in the UK. For example, we see soldiers on the beach being strafed by machine guns from German planes, and it almost feels like they do nothing as we don't see soliders being killed by it. I'm not saying that the film suffers badly for it, as all of the death visible is still emotional and effective, but we're used to films not shying away from the real horror of war and I had expected this to be a 15 rating and more bloody as this would have had more impact for me. However, on the flipside of this, I felt the physical destruction on display (such as boats sinking) was much more realistic than other Hollywood fare that revels in huge explosions, which is to the film's credit.

The film's greatest strength, for me, is the cinematography, which is absolutely stunning. Nolan has always been a very visual director, and his collaboration here with DoP Hoyte Van Hoytema  has produced one of the best looking films I've seen all year, which is something when you consider the bleak subject matter of the story. There are some particularly wonderful shots: the opening sequence as a squad of British soldiers walks through the silent streets of Dunkirk, German propaganda posters fluttering down on to them from above; the lone soldier sitting huddled on the hull of his sunken ship as Mr Dawson approaches; Kenneth Branagh watching helplessly as a medical ship full of wounded is torpedoed and sinks, the screams of those trapped inside audible as it goes down. A special mention must go to the aerial sequences featuring the Spitfires, which are breathtaking. The final tracking shot of Farrier's plane as he glides silently over the beach of Dunkirk, his engine out, is spectacular.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This isn't a long film, clocking in at an hour and forty five minutes, but it's completely gripping from beginning to end. Despite a somewhat neutered depiction of the violence of war and some uneven performances from minor characters, this is a fantastic film and another hit from Christopher Nolan. Highly recommended.