Unparalleled Immersion

*Spoiler warning* – Spoilers for Sam Mendes’ technical wonder 1917 lie ahead. If you’ve seen it, welcome aboard – I hope you’re stress levels have now returned to normality...

Yikes.

I expected 1917 to be a special movie. Behind the scenes featurettes depicted a one-take picture that would tell a harrowing and personal World War I story shot in real time. Social media buzz was accelerated when the acclaim landed in the form of Golden Globes and Oscar nominations began to flood in. Managing expectations as a soon-to-be audience member was, well, tricky.

Fortunately expectations were fulfilled, as 1917 is a technical masterpiece that puts you on the shoulders of the fearless soldiers on the frontlines. It is truly immersive, almost like no movie I’ve ever seen.

I’m pretty sure my stomach was knotted for 119 minutes. If you’re of a nervous disposition, give this movie a wide berth because it is an anxious two hours. It’s packed with brutal imagery, tense trench walks and jump scares that have the potential to send you into orbit.

Lance Cpl. Schofield [George MacKay] and Lance Cpl. Blake [Dean Charles Chapman] are given the seemingly impossible task of travelling across no-mans land and deep into unknown territory in order to deliver a message, calling off an attack that would see 1,600 men falling into a trap laid by the Germans.

And that’s the movie. We follow Schofield and Blake through this mission. We feel every moment.

When Schofield buries his hand into barbed wire during their initial trek across no-mans land, you FEEL it. I didn’t realise you could hear an audience wincing until I sat in a busy theatre on a Monday afternoon hearing everyone in the room reel at Schofield’s pain.

This was the first of many facial cues delivered by George MacKay that were superbly executed. This a film that is light on dialogue, particularly after the narrative bombshell that is the death of Blake – more on that in a moment – but MacKay doesn’t need dialogue to tell Schofield’s emotional torture, or his determined focus, or his desperation.

My favourite scene in the movie comes towards the end. I doubt I’m alone in the opinion that the end of Schofield’s journey, as he fights his way to the first wave of the assault to find Colonel Mackenzie, is a narrative culmination that is cinema at it’s best. The score is epic, the imagery is spectacular, the cinematography is breathtaking as Mackenzie runs across the plains, tripping over his fellow soldiers and narrowly avoiding deadly bombs.

Even at this point, the movie keeps you guessing as to whether the message will be delivered, just as it did when Blake is stabbed and killed by a German pilot he and Schofield pulled from burning wreckage and the mission is left very much in the balance.

The twist of Blake being killed just halfway into the movie’s run time was unexpected and to be honest, the timing was perhaps to the detriment of the film overall. My only criticism is that the film started to lose steam once Schofield became a lone messenger, albeit the quality of MacKay’s performance is in no doubt. Perhaps it’s because the novelty of the one-take setup was beginning to wear off, or that I was enjoying the budding chemistry between the two central figures.

As the lone Schofield nears the end of his journey, the movie circles back to brilliance to reach the aforementioned climax. And Schofield’s reward for achieving the impossible and saving his comrades is a “well done” from a Major and a “fuck off” from the Colonel. Brutal.

I’ve not seen a lot of war movies, but I can’t imagine many more immersive than this. Making this movie a one-take real time piece was bold and brilliant. Unique flair is something that can elevate a film and cement a movie’s legacy and 1917 will not be forgotten quickly.

If Roger Deakins doesn’t walk out of the Oscars with a cinematography honour, it’ll be a travesty. Director Sam Mendes is my favourite for Best Director. And if 1917 beats Joker, Marriage Story and plenty of other great movies in a stacked deck to take home the Best Picture, they’ll be no complaints from me.