Something Different From Nolan: A New Kind Of War Film

Rating: 7/10 (28 July 2017)

Until this point, film director and all-around mastermind Christopher Nolan has made epic character films. Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar...that were all epic in terms of character arc or story. Heck, Nolan even created the grittiest, true-to-real life Batman the world has seen to this point.
With "Dunkirk", however, Nolan really goes back to his film roots: that of a cinematographer. He's no stranger to widely professing that the love of film, camera, and shot construction are what appeal to him most about film-making. While he usually has at least a hand in his films' screenplays, it is generally assumed that brother Jonathan (now of "Westworld" fame) does most of the heavy lifting in that department. Flying solo (w/o Jonathan) on "Dunkirk", it is clear that Christopher means for this new film to almost completely be told in a visual fashion. Whether that style appeals to you will determine your overall enjoyment of the experience.
For a basic plot summary, "Dunkirk" tells the story of the famous 1940 WW2 scenario in which thousands of Allied soldiers are trapped on the beach at Dunkirk waiting for evacuation. The film tells this story of survival via three different lenses and time frames:
-The Mole (land): Two young soldiers, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) & Gibson (Aneurin Barnard), meet up on the Dunkirk beach and make an unspoken pact to find a way to escape onto one of the rescue boats. In their efforts, they run up against a number of obstacles, along the way picking up another friend, Alex (Harry Styles), in which to abscond with.
Paralleling the escape attempts of the young soldiers are a number of conversations between military officers Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh) and Colonel Winnant (James D'Arcy), effectively framing how mammoth of an evacuation effort will be needed to not still be trapped like sitting ducks when the enemy arrives.
-The Sea: Boats from the British mainland (just 30 miles or so from Dunkirk) are being commandeered to help with the rescue effort, but Mr. Dawson (Mary Rylance) sets out with no military presence on his boat. Joining him are son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and the son's friend George (Barry Keoghan). Along the way, the yacht picks up a shell-shocked soldier (played by Cillian Murphy), who's express consent is to never return to Dunkirk again.
-The Air: Patrolling the skies above the entire operation are Spitfighter pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy) & Collins (Jack Lowden), who must manage their fuel reserves, navigation techniques, and firepower to provide as much help as possible to ground/sea troops.
In stark contrast to Nolan's previous efforts, "Dunkirk" is not a character piece, nor is it reliant whatsoever on narrative twists or epiphanies. Instead, "Dunkirk" is almost purely visual. Long stretches go by with almost no dialogue at all, and no backstory is given on any characters besides what is being viewed on-screen in the moment.
"Dunkirk" is also a very interesting sort of war movie in that it has almost no distinguishable "message" to it. It takes the event of the Dunkirk evacuation (one which must resonate deeply with Nolan, an Englishman himself) and portrays it via a visual medium. This is the furthest thing from a propaganda war picture. and also contains none of the overt violence of, say, "Saving Private Ryan". One almost has to re-train oneself to watch/appreciate a war movie like this one, since most of war cinema is more blustery and chest-pounding.
For me, then, the 7-star rating comes because I so enjoy character-driven films (or ones that feature intriguing narratives) that this one set me aback a bit. I wasn't expecting this approach. Perhaps it will grow on me as I learn to appreciate the subtleties to Nolan's craft, but for now I'll peg it at a "solid 7".
That being said, there is no doubt that "Dunkirk" is an excellent film for what Christopher Nolan set out to accomplish with it. It features perhaps the best cinematography one will ever see on the big screen, and it is never "boring", in the sense that something interest is always happening on-screen (even despite, or perhaps because of, the lack of dialogue or character-building).
While "Dunkirk" certainly will fall short when compared to Nolan's other more epic, sprawling masterpieces, it never was meant to be looked at in that way in the first place. This is Nolan taking a bit of a step back (at least in terms of writing) to expertly direct/craft a passion project. Viewed from that perspective, there is still much to enjoy and appreciate. I would highly recommend (almost command!) one to see this film in the IMAX format, as the video and sound are such important components of the overall experience.