1917 (2019) Review

 1917 (2019) 8/10

Hello everybody and welcome to a very personal movie review.. Today, I’ll be going over the WWI war movie 1917. 1917 premiered in the UK on December 4, 2019, with the movie being written and directed by Sam Mendes. There’s something about this movie that hit me differently compared to a lot of other movies. I’m a history guy myself and I’ve always found that WWI doesn’t get talked about enough. Yeah there are stories and games and even music that’s produced about The Great War, but I feel that not a lot of people really understand what happened in this war. I find that this movie does an excellent job at showcasing a small fraction of it. There’s no clear enemy like with the Nazis and imperialistic Japanese, but some shit did happen in WWI. Millions of people left their homes, fought, and died in this war, but because America didn’t intervene until like the last year and a half, a lot of people dismiss it as irrelevant and unimportant. Long story short, I’m just really glad that a modern movie was made about the war, and a damn good movie at that. Let’s discuss it.

This is the story of Lance Corporal Blake and Lance Corporal Schofield who serve in the British Rifle Corps. On April 6, 1917, the two are given orders from their general to send a message to Colonial Mackenzie to hold off on an attack. The attack begins the next morning and the two have a lot of land to cover. If the two fail to deliver the message in time, 1,600 men will die, including Blake’s older brother. This is the story about the horrors of The Great War seen through the eyes of two young soldiers. 

The story is very simple. Two soldiers going from A to B, but this isn’t just about the destination. This is a very personal and disturbing story, as shown with Blake’s character. This movie is also about showcasing the horrors of this war and what the soldiers lived through in those trenches. In the first 10 minutes or so as Blake and Schofield are traversing through the trench, you see the living conditions for everyone. Sleeping with nothing but the uniform on your back with mud and rats surrounding you. All the soldiers are dirty and hungry and complaining about the useless war. No one wants to be here, but they have to. You see the desolation of No Man’s Land with all the craters and bodies and decaying flesh. A lot of the story is told through the setting itself. Near the end when Schofield is going through the medical tents, you see the dismemberment of the dying soldiers. It’s truly a horrifying experience and this movie captures WWI perfectly.

Everything I said wouldn’t have hit so hard had the movie not been accurate to the actual history. The sets, props, clothing, and landscapes were done with expert precision. The movie truly felt like it was set in the worn-torn fields of the Western Front. The attention to detail with both the landscapes, costumes, firearms, and the lighting was great. The bleakness of No Man’s Land, The lush green fields of France, and the military uniforms looked good. Tanks lying in the craters, barbed wire everywhere, dogfights in the sky. The movie even showed a Sikh soldier, which I was not expecting. The movie truly captured what WWI would’ve looked like back then. Honestly the best part about the movie was its cinematography. Not only is the movie meant to look like a one-shot, but just the way the camera moves around each setting is just brilliant. Sam Mendes really knocked it out of the park with his excellent camera work.

My biggest issue with the movie is the writing. Although the film does an excellent job at setting the stage of The Great War, I do think that the story itself could have been a bit better. The whole plot of the duo needing to get from point A to B is perfectly fine, but I do believe the film could have added some extra seasoning to the story. Yeah we got to see a dogfight and even a random French woman who represents the civilians of this war, but ultimately these were the weaker parts of the film. I was hoping for something with a bit more substance from these sub plots. But I do want to reiterate that the grand story of reaching the 2nd Devons is fantastic.

The acting is phenomenal. The two main actors, Dean-Charles Chapman (Blake) and George Mackay (Schofield), were fucking amazing. Benedict Cumberbatch (MacKenzie) was great, too, despite only appearing for like 2 minutes. They never once broke character and were enjoyable. The characters themselves were great, too. There was enough development for the characters for me to get attached, but not over-the-top. 

Another highlight was the music. I’ve seen this movie a handful of times now and honestly I don’t think I ever truly appreciated this film’s music score. Thomas Newman sets the film’s tone perfectly with his compositions. The way he creates that ambience and builds around with the drones and violins adds so much flavor to the film. It’s absolutely brilliant and, might I say, this is one of the best music scores ever, although low on that listing. 

Overall, this is easily one of the best war movies I have ever seen. The movie is rock solid from start to finish with a few weak spots here and there. But regardless, this is a movie that I feel like everyone needs to watch, mainly to get a brief look into the dreaded horrors of the first world war.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.

This is Zorgak, signing off.