Experiencing War in a Realistic Manner

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2020)

This movie certainly lives up to the hype and expectation given by the fact that they won the award for best drama at the Golden Globes last year. However, to say that this movie is better than Joker is well, I don't buy that as Joker has a better narrative and cinematography, but that is just my opinion. Firstly, I would like to make things clear that this is a movie about the humane side of war and the emotional toll it has on those involved within these wars and at its core, the human spirit to survive.

The actor that absolutely stood out to me within this film is definitely George Mackay whom I have never heard of or have ever seen him in many major films before this and it is quite shocking to say that as he is indeed a talented actor whom in my opinion, if not for his acting capabilities, this entire movie would fall apart as this movie is more of a character driven movie rather than one that relies heavily on the movie's narrative. He manages to convey his character's emotions through his body language and all credit to director Sam Mendes too whom chose to direct a movie that requires the audience to observe and pay attention to the character's rather than having the character announce his emotions as seen in various movies these days. For me personally, the stand out scene would be the scene involving George Mackay's character in an army truck and it is truly such a powerful and emotional scene.

Speaking of characters, I felt the use of cameos from major stars such as Andrew Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth and etc unnecessary as scenes with them last for approximately a minute or two and these scenes sort of stand out like a sore thumb in the movie as you know that it's just a cameo and these major stars are there for the sake of being there to provide the movie some extra dressing. Some may love this but I felt that these scenes were unnecessary and these actors could've been put to better use.

As for the most talked about point regarding this movie, this movie is edited in such a way that makes it seem like a one-shot. The entire experience was amazing and it draws you into the brutal minute-by-minute environment of war; from the casual conversations between soldiers to the nasty action sequences. I was wondering if all the events would take place within the movie's 2 hour runtime but they managed to pull off the passage of time absolutely brilliantly without having to break the one-shot effect they were really gunning for.

The cinematography was absolutely brilliant too, my gosh, this is a beautiful movie. I kid you not, each frame of this movie can be a screensaver and it is indeed an awe dropping experience. From the colour gradient used which is generally a sort of dull colour to depict the gritty environment of the battlefield to a beautiful flame within what is a dull environment (Not too experienced when it comes to colour gradients so this is the best I can do to explain it, sorry).

As previously mentioned, I now shall comment upon the movie's narrative. Well, it isn't anything new to be honest which is where I feel the movie severely lacks as the end goal is certain and you can kind of guess how the movie is going to turn out regardless of the movie's emphasis on the race against time to deliver the message. Furthermore, I did not feel much tension during the movie as I hoped I would and this is mainly due to yet again, the predictability of the movie's endgame.

Generally, at the end of the day, this is w a must watch. It may not be my pick for the Golden Globe award but my gosh, this is truly a cinematic experience you should not miss out on. Besides, it's January, all the movies out now can be missed out on and you probably wouldn't regret missing it; but this, this you cannot miss.