Sam Mendes makes us into Wayfaring Strangers

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2020)

It seems stupid to state but there was a war before the Second World War. How much do we know about it? When was the last successful film that was made about the subject? I struggle to name any. Sam Mendes looks to change that in his First World War thriller 1917.
Unflinching, that is the word I would use to best describe 1917, it is a movie that doesn't care if you want to see what is on screen or not. You are going to watch all the same. It is horrible, painful and most of all beautiful.
The entire point of any war film is to relate to an audience the deeper impact of what we see on screen. In this way their ultimate tool is tension. If you can keep the tension high in a wartime drama you are onto a winner. I could widen that viewpoint and say that is the goal of most films is to successfully deliver tension. This is something Sam Mendes has a speciality in. He knows what buttons to press and when to do so.
It is quite an achievement to direct two of the most successful James Bond films ever and afterword make a film that is seen as ambitious and your masterpiece. This is where we find 1917, in a gap that we weren't even aware of in our minds, before the new instalment of the mega-blockbuster James Bond and in the lull of Christmas is this powerhouse of a compelling drama based around two soldiers with a singular mission in mind.
When the film opens we are given around 5 minutes to settle ourselves into both the setting and the shooting style before we (not unlike our characters) are thrown headfirst into the first world war and all the horrors that it entails, this is an uncompromising vision of the real-life events which happened in a war that has forever been overshadowed by its sequel.
Every single moment of 1917, every second and element is all used to elevate the pressure. From the music to the directing and cast, all of it has one goal in mind. To make us never relax. In the entire 2 hours run time, we are given only 2 periods of rest, matching up with our protagonists. Both of which end up giving us deeper anxiety, we want the characters to complete their task, and we want it now.
I could pull out any number of sequences of 1917 as highlights but I will opt for just one, which is seen in part in the trailer when one of the 2 leads is seen running towards the camera and other soldiers are running across, that one sequence, when put in context, brought me to near tears alone. That is the power of this movie.
I would be mistaken not to bring up how the conscious choice of camerawork gives 1917 it's shape and style, which when paired with the subtle but haunting score by Thomas Newman gives us the overall tone of the film. Blend those two titans with actors of unknown talent and cameos by A list brit talents put it in a grinder with girt, blood and regret, serve it up in an unclean cup and that is what 1917 feels like to watch. I say watch, I mean to endure.
1917 is an unstoppable tour de force of the harrowing and traumatic nature of war. This is a film that will be on my top 10 of the year come to the end and more importantly should be on yours too.
10 camera cuts out of 10