Christopher Nolan comes back to theaters with his new masterpiece, Dunkirk. The film features an ensemble cast, starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy. It is set in World War II during the harrowing evacuation of Dunkirk. The film follows three separate storylines: I. The Mole (on land covering one week), II. The Sea (at sea covering one day), III. The Air (in the air covering one hour).
Let me start off by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I saw this film at my local theater which offered Century XD (the next best thing to IMAX), with quality surround sound and comfortable leather reclining seats. So I had some time to really piece this together. The acting was great, the use of visuals was great and the story was well thought out. Instead of going into the basics, I want to cover four things with my thoughts and opinions: Cinematography and the three parts, The Mole, The Sea and The Air. Let’s begin!
The film was shot on a combination of IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large format film stock in Panavision System 65, on IMAX cameras. Hoyte Van Hoytema once again is behind the camera for this film after having done previous work on Interstellar. The cameras and lenses used in this film were the first to be handheld, supervised by Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. Filming took place in the UK, Netherlands, United States and the real beaches of Dunkirk, France. The color of the film used that weird war movie filter that can be seen in films like Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor and Letters from Iwo Jima. It uses a lot of blues, browns and blacks to give it a dark tone. Nolan and Van Hoytema probably spent weeks preparing to shoot this film. A big film preservationist, Nolan again shoots on film as previously mentioned. Nolan’s big on shooting on film and it definitely was the pinnacle of his work when it came to Dunkirk.
Why it’s called the Mole is because I think there’s a certain character in the group that is out of place... if you’ve seen the film, that’s probably why this section is called that but for the most part, I am not sure. Regardless, this section of the film is where our story begins. We follow a soldier named Tommy. He rarely speaks and when he does, it doesn’t really move the plot forward. This section had good moments however it lacked depth. A lot of it were the characters slowly looking up at the sky as Luftwaffe planes picked them off. It was harrowing to see but these moments really played out well. The photo above really highlights the characters and their reactions as the story progressed.
Taking place over the course of one day, this section covers one of the Little Ships of Dunkirk from their leaving the UK to their arrival at Dunkirk across the English Channel. The Royal Navy are commandeering private boats to ferry soldiers back from Dunkirk however the characters Mr. Dawson, his son Peter and their friend George, take the evacuation into their own hands and sail across the channel. Along the way, they encounter several characters from the other threads in the movie. I think this section is the more interesting parts of the movie. It blends both civilian and military types that push the story forward. It also gives perspective to the civilians who had to take part in the evacuation of Dunkirk as well as their morals, feelings and outcomes.
Tom Hardy once again acts in one of Nolan’s films. He was the star of this section in the film. Flying Submarine Spitfires, three pilots head to Dunkirk to provide support for the waiting troops. Without spoiling too much, Tom Hardy takes down several planes and barely survives in the knick of time. There’s so much I want to say about this section but I can’t say it without spoiling it!
This movie was incredible. It was big, it was loud and there were moments that just make you go in awe. It wasn’t the best Nolan film I’ve seen but it also wasn’t the best World War II film I’ve seen. If you are going to see this movie, see it in IMAX. It’s big, it’s loud and it’s masterfully shot.
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