Christopher Nolan has made several genre films and his newest one tackles the war genre. His films often find run times over two hours, but for his first foray into the war genre, a genre often epic due to its subject matter, is just under. However, while Dunkirk is one of his shortest films, the intensity achieved is among the highest ever in film and begins almost immediately and never lets up. Nolan has done it again and made a movie that is engaging, human, and masterful in every way.
Dunkirk is intense from beginning to end
Dunkirk is the story of allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, and France who are trying to evacuate while the German army surrounds them during World War II. Nolan captures the fear and tension that these men would have felt while awaiting transport with the hope of getting back home. However, it is also the story of civilians leaving England and heading to France in private boats to attempt to rescue the trapped soldiers. Then the third story is of two pilots who are sent in as air support to try and keep the ships safe from the German bombers.
In true Nolan fashion, these three stories are told in a very compelling way. Each thread is woven together as if they are all happening simultaneously, but Nolan informs the audience immediately that is not the case. The land aspect of the film where the soldiers are awaiting transport, the civilian vessels, and the pilots stories are one week, one day, and one hour respectively. There is text in the first scene of each of the scenarios stating as much, but it takes a little while to see exactly what is meant by the words. This allows the tension to build with dramatic irony as there will be moments where the audience knows the outcome of an action that was tense on its own but is more so with that knowledge.
Outstanding performances from new and familiar alike
The performances are outstanding across the board. Much of the film has little to no dialogue requiring the visual storytelling and the quiet acting to do the heavy lifting. Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, and Kenneth Branagh are all living up to the prior work. While the less familiar faces, Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard, Aneurin Barnard, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Hardy, Jack Lowden, and Harry Styles also give brilliant performances. The soldiers are all these young actors who look barely old enough to be eligible for the military who are justifiably terrified. They’re sitting ducks stuck between an ocean and sea of enemy soldiers.
The film opens with a scene that was in the trailers. Fliers raining down onto the streets of Dunkirk warning that the enemy soldiers have them surrounded. It seems as though the film is starting on a downbeat and will work it’s way into the chaos. However, after moments of calm gunfire erupts and startles the soldiers and audience alike. From that moment on the tension never backs away and the use of sound helps carry it through. Hans Zimmer’s knocks another score out of the park with this film and Nolan’s sound editing and mixing play such a factor in the tension that is created.
Final thoughts…
Dunkirk is a film meant to be seen on the big screen. Literally, the biggest screen you are able to get to in order to see it. Nolan loves the IMAX 70MM film and that is the optimal way it is meant to be seen. However, if you can’t get to one of those lucky theaters find any theater showing Dunkirk and experience cinema. The film earns the Must See rating emphatically!
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