Nolan's Latest is His Greatest

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2017)

Viewed in IMAX 70MM.
Dunkirk arrives with a bang, further solidifying writer-director Christopher Nolan as one of the best filmmakers working today. Nolan presents the tense World War II thriller as a triptych, detailing the evacuation of Dunkirk from the perspectives of land, sea, and air. Perhaps the film's most astounding achievement is that we never see the Germans. The film's focus remains entirely on the evacuating Allied soldiers and those sent to support their efforts. By never showing the Germans on screen, Nolan presents them as a looming specter over the Allied forces, an invisible presence that can surprise them at every turn. This only adds another level of tension to a film that manages to sustain a taut, uneasy atmosphere for nearly its entire runtime. Nolan's main concern lies with answering the question of whether or not these soldiers will manage to escape. As such, we never once are transported to a war room to watch military leaders quarrel about what the next move should be. Instead, we follow three distinct groups: soldiers that include newcomer Fionn Whitehead's Tommy, a couple of RAF pilots led by Tom Hardy's Farrier, and a small boat crew led by Mark Rylance's Mr. Dawson.
I got the opportunity to see Dunkirk in IMAX 70mm and I only wish more people could as well. The enormous screen and earth-rattling sound place you right in the center of the action to potent effect. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema again teams up with Nolan after previously collaborating on Interstellar to awe-inspiring results. Around 90% of the film makes full usage of the towering screen, with only a few sequences presented in a more traditional letterboxed style. Nolan and Hoytema use the larger frame to their advantage, crafting spell- binding shots at every junction, whether it be a close-up shot of a pilot's face or the sweeping image of thousands of soldiers waiting on a beach. Dunkirk demands to be seen on the largest screen possible.
The film also marks the sixth collaboration between Nolan and composer Hans Zimmer. The explosive, ever-present score from Zimmer serves as the model accompaniment for the film, the stirring urgency of the music matched effortlessly with the harrowing images of war and escape. Another Oscar nomination for Zimmer would not be a surprise. But the way that the score mixes with the sounds of the battlefield is an achievement in its own right. Explosions boom and gunshots ring, fighter planes and bullets whizzing by. But through all the chaos, all the madness, Zimmer's score serves as a ticking stopwatch, counting down the minutes as the palpable threat from the Germans grows.
Despite the relative simplicity of its storyline, Dunkirk is perhaps Nolan's most experimental feature. His three stages of war all unfold over various time frames, which are interwoven by Lee Smith's masterful editing, creating a non-linear narrative that astounds with both its sweeping scope and intimate, poignant emotional beats. The sparse use of dialogue also stands out. Nolan revels in visual storytelling, employing dialogue only when necessary, with the soldiers communicating their fears through their actions rather than through conversation. Admittedly, the characters that populate the world of Dunkirk are not the most developed, but they are all defined by their desire to make it back home. They are all tethered by this longing, and we can feel their mutual trepidation and hope as they struggle to find a way out of Dunkirk.
Unconventionally, the majority of the soldiers of Nolan's film are not heroic figures, especially those on land. The event that Nolan uses as the basis for his film is historic not because it marked a major victory for Allied forces, but because the British suffered an ignominious rout. As such, some of these men are terrified for their lives, while others, knowing very well that any moment could be their last, subsist solely on their love of country. Every actor across the board, from established British stars like Kenneth Branagh to newcomers like Whitehead expertly bring their characters to life. Whitehead and Harry Styles both deliver great performances as two inexperienced soldiers determined to survive. Meanwhile, in the air, Hardy simply dominates the screen, his steely gaze working wonders as a substitute for conventional dialogue. The film's best performance belongs to the magnificently understated Rylance, who delivers a heroic performance as a sailor who navigates his yacht towards Dunkirk to save lives, despite the danger that awaits.
This danger manifests itself in a manifold of ways. A soldier stranded at sea remarks that he is the lone survivor of a U-boat attack. Farrier and his fellow pilots engage German fighters over the Channel. In a haunting opening sequence, Tommy runs desperately through the streets of Dunkirk, evading enemy fire. The film's action sequences benefit from Nolan's skillful direction, and the aerial dogfights, in particular, stand out amongst the rest. Hoytema's camera captures the proceedings with such precision that it puts the action in most Hollywood blockbusters to shame. While his camera hardly ever lingers on the carnage of war, Hoytema knows when to draw out the tension, creating sequences that left me breathless.
With his latest, Nolan delivers another masterpiece that might just be his best film yet. It works as a demonstration of bravery, a celebration of courage, and an acknowledgment of fear in the face of adversity. While not my favorite Nolan flick , Dunkirk delivers a cinematic experience unlike anything I've ever seen. The way Nolan so adeptly sustains the tension throughout is simply mesmerizing and a testament to his directorial prowess. Packed with stunning IMAX camera-work from Hoytema, some of Zimmer's best work to date, a talented cast giving it their all, and an underlying message that underscores the need for hope, Dunkirk is a rousing spectacle from a director at the top of his game, and the best film of 2017 thus far.
Rating: 10/10 (Masterpiece)