Visually stunning, but emotionally unsatisfying

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2017)

At the risk of sounding like a fanatic, Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly the only one we can trust to save original, franchise- less cinema from extinction. His willingness to create wholly original spectacle, mayhem grounded in reality, crafted with skill, sensitivity, and a deep, but mellow Tarantino-esque affection for the freedom of the silver screen renders him the most admirable big- budget blockbuster director working today.
Which is why it's such a goddam shame that his biggest films aren't that great.
Dunkirk recounts the story of the Dunkirk evacuation, probably the most celebrated event of the entire second World War. Hundreds of thousands of British soldiers found themselves pushed back by German forces to the beaches of Dunkirk, so close to Britain that they could see it. Stranded between hell and high water, the British soldiers seemingly had no choice but to wait for the Nazis to pick them off, one by one. In desperation, the British military commandeered everything that could float, from fishing boats to pleasure yachts. And with these small boats, around three hundred thousand British soldiers were saved, at least until they returned to battle. It remains an impressive story even now, not as a military victory, but as a wonderful example of human action, much like the Berlin Airlift of 1948. It can't exactly be labelled as a humanitarian effort, but the fact that so many lives were saved makes it very tempting.
The film tells this story through a tense narrative divided in three: land, sea, and sky. One narrative follows a young British soldier as he attempts to escape the beach, another follows one civilian's attempt to help evacuate, and the third follows an air force pilot as he battles the German airforce above the waves. While this division of narrative allows for more of a story to be told, it ultimately reduces the effect of the film. We are told all three stories at the same time, Nolan cutting from one to the other in a choppy manner, not giving any one story the opportunity to form any sort of emotional resonance or any one character enough screen time for us to develop sympathy for them. The result is a curiously thin experience, curious because each story is rousing enough, but together and at the same time, they become weak. While Interstellar wallowed in maudlin nonsense, Dunkirk finds itself on the opposite side of the spectrum: virtually devoid of feeling.
All that being said, the film is nothing to sneer at. The plane scenes, while occasionally disorienting, are very thrilling, Hoytema more than pulling his weight in that department. The soundtrack, which ticks like a time bomb throughout the entire film, provides the film with a wonderful intensity that kept me engaged and excited. And whatever fears you may have about this PG-13 war film not accurately depicting war in all its horror and brutality, let them rest. Nolan doesn't shy away from the peril of the circumstances, one particularly frightening scene of soldiers burning to death in the middle of the ocean making this clear. However much Nolan was wooed away from the human side of storytelling by the technical aspect of the entire thing, it's always fun -- and terrifying -- to see a great director at work.
As far as acting goes, Hardy and Murphy perform as expected. But of all people, Harry Styles brings it to the table with surprising gusto, outperforming veteran thespians like Branagh and almost even Rylance. It's worth noting that he has no formal training as an actor. However, the drawback of his performance is that he emerges as the only truly compelling character in the entire film. Everyone else, perhaps excluding Murphy's character, is boring, existing as only a ragdoll for all the spectacle and fury to toss about.
Dunkirk isn't a bad film. It's a good, maybe even a great film, turned into somewhat of a mess by non-linearity. There are rousing bits, moments of peril, and a few that are undeniably beautiful. Watching the film and taking into account certain strokes of creative genius, you'll know that you're in the hands of a great director.
However, you're not in the hands of a great writer, and that perhaps makes all the difference.