Direction: Sam Mendes
Country: USA
After two James Bond ventures - Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015) - English director Sam Mendes returns with an intense, schematic World War I drama, which he co-wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. The script of 1917 was partly based on a narrative fragment told by the director’s grandfather, the novelist and short-story writer Alfred H. Mendes, to whom the film was dedicated.
The expeditious camera focuses on two British soldiers, Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and William Schofield (George MacKay), who, while stationed in the North of France, are entrusted with the mission of delivering a vital message to the 2nd battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. The message includes direct orders from the general to stop a longtime planned attack that will lead them into a deadly German ambush. If delivered on time, the lives of 1600 men will be spared, including Blake’s bigger brother.
During their pedestrian course in enemy territory, the men face death in claustrophobic interiors, traverse slippery, muddy land loaded with semi-putrefied corpses, stop at sinister abandoned places, and rush through ruins on fire, where bullets fly from every direction. Both the intriguing score and stunning cinematography, composed by Thomas Newman and Roger Deakins, respectively, assure a valuable consolidation.
There are some plot distentions - Schofield is virtually bullet-proof in the battlefield and even carries milk to feed a hungry baby - but the film also piles up moments of true fascination, especially when it comes to the visuals. It’s a terrifying, grim look at war, filled with devastating post-battle scenarios, pushing-forward energy and acute tension. By the end, you’ll feel as exhausted as the messenger.
