1917 could easily be argued as one of the best war films of the 21st century. It gives such a horrid, brutal, and real depiction of the first world war and these miserable and gruesome tones are executed to perfection. It follows Corporal’s Lance (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), who are informed that upcoming attack is in fact a trap set in place by the Germans, and if the two do not give the message to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) in time, they will walk into a massacre. If the stakes weren’t high enough, Blake’s brother is among the 1600 soldiers that could be killed. The film is not only gripping from start to finish, it allows contains plenty of emotional scenes. Without dropping spoilers, the scene by the barn will really tug at your heartstrings, MacKay, and particularly Chapman in this scene, both gave it their all- this shone in this scene but is evident throughout the entirety of the film.
Speaking of entirety, the entire film is seemingly one shot long. Whilst it would be near impossible to pull off a single two hour take, certain camera techniques allow us to feel like the film is one continuous shot. This really helps with the high stakes of the film, the two have no time to waste and we are following their pressured journey every step of the way. This allowed us to be fully engaged throughout the film, and unable to turn away at any moment. It also paces the film so incredibly well, which again makes the film feel that more immersive. The action scenes are also brilliant, with some incredibly eye-widening explosions and visual effects matched with some just as incredible, awe-inspiring, and cinematically amazing shots. The credit really has to go to Roger Deakins, the head of cinematography, here- who did every visual effect to a tea.
Overall, 1917 is one of the most tense, gripping and brilliant films of 2019, and possibly even war films in total- that pulls an audience into this horror and doesn’t let them out for 2 hours.
