Suspense-filled Thriller With Only 2,940 Spoken Words

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2018)

Dunkirk, in short: The story of when British, Belgium and French soldiers were trapped, surrounded, and all but abandoned by their government in a small French village. The call goes out to all civilian boats: bring our boys home.
Dunkirk, in my words: Propaganda leaflets are dropped from the sky by the Nazi Luftwaffe. A British soldier picks up a few, with the intention of using them as toilet paper. The notice reads, "We have you surrounded", then the bullets fly. So begins Christopher Nolan's latest film about the "colossal military disaster" that became an inspiration to an already frightened population less than one year into WWII. The soldiers are ordered to retreat to the coast and await their ride home. Thousands of men standing-by on a beach in Dunkirk, France. They can nearly see home - across the English Channel - from where they are positioned, out in the open, "like fish in a barrel" for the circling enemy planes. The Germans are closing in fast on their position. There is no fleet of battleships and frigates on the way to evacuate them, only a flotilla of patriotic civilians with their fishing boats and pleasure crafts; unarmed but fearless.
Things you'll LIKE about Dunkirk: 1) It is awesome. When it starts, it doesn't stop until the credits role. The story moves very quickly and is seamless. The music is suspenseful, building, and intense and works to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the 106-minute running time. The aerial photography is nothing short of spectacular as it closely captures RAF pilot Farrier (Tom Hardy) during his mission. 2) There is very little spoken dialogue but there's a lot of action and the story is shown from three key perspectives. The script I read had 23 pages of dialogue. 2,940 spoken words to be exact (I counted them myself). The entire script has 15,325 words in total, including described action scenes and screen direction. It works, and it works well.
Things you'll DISLIKE about Dunkirk: 1) This easily could have been a longer film, but it's not. As it is now, it's one of the shorter Christopher Nolan efforts at 106 minutes. Following (1998) is 69 minutes, Memento (2000) is 113 minutes. Dunkirk could have added another 15 minutes to the running time without changing the flow. 2) Guys, you may not like the One Direction dude (Harry Styles plays Alex) in this. However, you can take solace in knowing that he can act!