The journey of two young British corporals who are assigned the task of delivering a critical message to their comrades during World War I forms the foundation for the plot of 1917. And while the film has you hooked from the start, as you quite literally join Lance Corporals Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) on their quest, it’s the manner in which director Sam Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins narrate this story that is the real winner, in this war epic.
Film '1917'
The film opens on the two corporals taking a nap in the middle of what seems like an idyllic countryside before they’re awakened and sent on a mission. What seems to be a German retreat, their general tells them, isn’t quite the case as the enemy has plans to lure a British regiment of 1,600 soldiers to advance at them in the false belief that the Germans are giving up on the fighting. The only problem: communication lines are down, and the two British corporals must journey on foot to reach this regiment and order it to abandon the plan to attack.
Film '1917'
Seamless Narrative
The beauty of 1917’s storytelling is that no sooner does the mission begin the audience is teleported to Schofield and Blake’s world filled with the horror, chaos and turmoil of war. Deakins’ masterful use of the long take shot on a steadicam, and film editor Lee Smith’s conscious effort to stitch it all together into one seamless shot makes you see the film as one continuous narrative with zero cuts, like in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) and Birdman (2014).
Film '1917'
This immersive visuals style, in turn, allows us to stop remaining audiences and get more involved with the action on screen — much like a video game. No sooner does that begin looking away from the screen becomes close to impossible? It almost feels like the audience has a personal stake in every explosion, booby trap, sniper attack, ambush and bombing that takes place on the screen. That, without a doubt, is truly the mark of accomplished cinematography. It also helps that Deakins’ camera journeys with the two corporals, continuing to shift perspectives, sometimes zooming on their dirty boots and at other times focusing on their POV so as to let the audience see the war from their eyes.
Film '1917'
The visual brilliance of 1917, however, doesn’t end with Deakins’ long takes and impressive tracking shots. The film itself is a testament to great production design, lighting and sound effects. Given that almost the entire film is edited to display the narrative unfolding in real-time (which means 15 minutes on your watch in the theatre is 15 minutes of time elapsed in the characters’ world) timing has had a crucial role to play, in the making of the film.
Commendable Production Design
Living up to the bar set by the film’s visual accomplishments is its production design, which sees its two main characters journey across various terrains — trenches, mine shafts, green meadows, abandoned stone houses, cities in ruin, rivers and forests. Even here, the cinematography continues to stand out, with Deakins’ artistry coming to the fore at capturing the dreary grey and gloom of war littered with carcases of fallen soldiers and horses just as well as it shoots an almost surreal sequence of one of the characters running across a ravaged city, with flares and gunfire lighting up the entire scene — uncannily reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979).
Film '1917'
In all, solid screenplay and some pleasant casting surprises (won’t give away more) make for an hour and 59 minutes of good, unadulterated entertainment. Add to this, great cinematography, unbelievably good lighting, visuals effects, sound and video-editing make 1917 a delight to watch, even if you aren’t exactly a history or a war geek. It also helps that unlike Dunkirk (2017) or Midway (2019), the film does not bear the weight of a real-life incident that requires the uninitiated to establish a context before watching the film.
Little wonder then that 1917 has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including the big ones — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and so on. Come February 10, you can’t help but think this one could go big at the Oscars.
