This visually stunning, gripping WW2 drama did live up to the hype. I can’t think of a single thing to criticise. The performances were stunning all around. I’m not a huge fan of Tom Hardy, but he did some beautiful and truly touching work with his pilot character. I particularly loved the moment where we watch him decide to stay and fight. That was some Oscar-worthy non-verbal acting, and his end stings all the more. In terms of characters, I particularly enjoyed Kenneth Brannagh as the brave, paternal commander, Mark Rylance as steadfast and calm captain of a civilian boat, and his son portrayed by Tom Glynn-Carney. Also, Jack Lowden as fighter plane pilot number 2 was great, and Harry Styles gave a truly impressive debut, holding his own against much more experienced actors. I could go on. There was not a single bad or even average performance in this film. Everyone did a magnificent job, down to the last soldier. Excellent casting and director Christopher Nolan clearly got the maximum out of his artists.
The script itself is quite refreshing as well. Though it took me some time to get on board, so to speak, with the split timeline narrative, the way the entire story was told worked brilliantly. Despite the numerous characters, they took time to develop each one of them and make them stand out on their own merits without bloating the script. In the end, I cared for all of them in a way, which made the individual story lines all the more touching. It is impossible to say who was the hero or protagonist of this film because – presumably intentionally – all characters somehow ended up as heroes, big or small, of more or less equal importance. I loved the resulting feeling of camaraderie, unity in the face of a common threat – and I do mean “threat” and not “enemy”. It was such a relief to not hear the word “Nazi” even once throughout the film. Rather, the threat remained a faceless, mostly unseen menace. This film was not about the fight, about hate and aggression. It was about human reactions under pressure and how we ultimately help each other more than hurt, even in dire circumstances. Without coming across as kitschy or romanticised, the story highlighted the goodness and heroism innate in humankind, despite the atrocities of war. And, somehow, they managed to make do with barely any visual violence, bodies or guts and blood, despite the setting. It's a mark of true quality that the film did not need to utilize injuries and gore to shock and sensationalise. I really appreciated that.
The visual execution of this is flawless, with top-shelf cinematography. Enormous set piece and hundreds of extras truly give the film an epic feel. The effects and CGI blend so seamlessly into the picture that I couldn’t tell even for a second where reality ended and graphics began. It was that faultless, and only by virtue of logic do I know there even was CGI. Particularly the fighter plane scenes stood out as masterfully done; they were so convincing. For the most part, with all the water and sand, it looks like miserable shooting conditions for all involved, but it paid off, leading to a gritty, realistic depiction where you can practically feel the cold and wet seeping through the screen on top of the fear and despair.
Interestingly, despite all this, the overall atmosphere is completely dependent on the score. The music single-handedly creates the tension as Hans Zimmer provides one of his most fitting soundtracks yet, deviating from his bombastic style in favour of atmospheric soundscapes. In harmony with the perfect editing, everything condenses into an incredibly tight, polished product. I appreciate that they did not blow up the runtime unnecessarily with some of the expensive mass scenes they doubtlessly did, but stayed on the efficient side of cinema.
A masterfully produced piece of cinema. 5/5
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