Outstanding.

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2020)

Capturing a full length feature in one continuous shot is a rare artistic technique utilised by filmmakers, with very few films in existence eligible to boast such a technical accomplishment. For his epic World War I film, Sam Mendes (director of Skyfall) and cinematographer Rodger Deakins employed long takes and swooping camera shots in order to project the illusion of a single continuous shot. While it's not a cinematic technique serviceable for every feature film, it most certainly compliments a project with the scale of 1917. On April 2nd, 1917, two soldiers, Schofield (MacKay) and Blake (Chapman), are instructed to deliver a message to the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment that will subsequently terminate an attack that would result in the deaths of 1,600 men. In an ultimate race against time, Schofield and Blake courageously venture behind enemy lines to accomplish their mission, encountering many perilous obstacles along the way.
1917 is a staggering accomplishment. Utilizing the one continuous shot illusion, Mendes and Deakin's craft an epic, mesmerising journey into the heart of war, carried by an outstanding central performance by MacKay. Deakin's cinematography is fantastic and utterly immersive, complimented tremendously by Thomas Newman's brilliant score. It's a continuously riveting descent into treacherous territory. Factoring in the gritty authenticity of the set design captured by the one shot illusion, much of 1917 feels almost documentary-esque in it's sense of realism. Up there with Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Dunkirk (2017), 1917 is a must-see war effort that is breath-taking in scope and emotionally exhausting in its resolution.