Thoughts on 1917

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2020)

Beautiful cinematography by Roger Deakins. The scene at night in the ruins that are lit by flares and fire is fantastic. Two simple shots stand out to me; the first being in the beginning when the two protagonists walk around a body of water and the camera parts from them, goes to the waters surface and follows them from the side as they cross. The second being when Schofield sits to listen to the solider sing to his compatriots. The camera weaves in between the crowd of listeners to come back on Schofield. Very good costumes. Great set design and dressing. The film is filled with soldiers dirtied in the trenches; smoking, drinking, sleeping and tending to wounds. Locations are filled with ruins, craters, barred wire, old posters, fires, rubble and dead bodies. Everything in the foreground and background does a great job to feel like an authentic WW1 movie. The one shot element does a great job helping convey passage of time as well as really make the movie feel like one continuous journey. All the events on the way to the destination are great and exciting to watch. The death of Blake served as a great way to create stakes very shortly into the movie's runtime as well a create a good character moment between Schofield and Blake's brother. The last 25 minutes or so are great. The quick tempo ticking score gives a sense of urgency.
There are a few elements that really hinder 1917. The first being the dialogue. A lot of the time it's very cheese ball, conversations between the two protagonists seem off. The second is the actual story. There's really nothing to the story, just a simple get from point A to point B with things that happen in the middle. Next is the one take element. Scenes where Schofield is running from Germans firing at him seem not as tense as they should be. Well over a dozen shots are missed back to back to back and you see every single one because its one take. Some quick cuts during those scenes would have created a more tense feeling. Finally the movie seemed more like a performance, like a play.
Pretty good war movie that is really elevated by its cinematography and attention to detail on set, with a couple great moments. If you like war movies this is one to watch.
7.5/10