World War 1, otherwise known as “The Great War” , and by people from that era as “the war to end all wars”, was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history causing over 100 million deaths worldwide. With any movie that deals with War it’s difficult to balance between the horrific brutality that comes with any type of combat, along with the quiet moments of reflection that happens in some cases. This is what Director Sam Mendes does with 1917 and I believe it is the most unique take of a movie surrounding war that I have seen in quite some time. The premise of the film which was based on stories from British novelist Alfred Mendes (The grandfather of Sam Mendes) is fairly simple, yet incredibly powerful. During the height of the First World War during the Spring 1917 in northern France, two young British soldiers, Schofield (George Mackay) and Blake (Dean Charles-Chapman), are given a seemingly impossible mission to deliver a message which will warn of an ambush during one of the skirmishes soon after the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich.
Based off that premise alone the mission seems pretty straight forward, but the technical mastery that the movie introduces right from the beginning keeps you completely invested throughout. The audience gets to follow Schofield and Blake as they make the journey across the German front lines to complete the impossible mission. Mendes along with the best Cinematographer working today in Roger Deakins decided to envelop this whole story in a continuous one shot method that creates a different experience never seen in these kinds of films before. There are certain sequences and shots that are truly breathtaking, but that isn’t all that is included in this movie. There are also sequences that show the horrific reality of what WW1 was in brutal ways which are shocking but done so well. The other major component of the movie that deserves recognition is how incredible the score from Thomas Newman is and how it fits perfectly to the emotion of the movie.
There are parts where there is no score playing which help build to the tension, but when the score does come back it bellows and just adds to the overall experience. A lot has been said about the exceptional cast that is attached to this movie (Collin Firth, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott and Richard Madden) and they all perform exceptionally well for the time that they have, but George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman are the main focal point of the movie. Even though you spend only a few hours with these soldiers you completely buy the deep friendship that they have and see how much they care for each other and getting this mission done. They are the one aspect of the movie that stuck with me the most after seeing the film, and I believe I won’t be the only one saying that when 1917 is released in December.
The Verdict