Heart pounding, heart breaking war thriller

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2017)

Can I start off with a question? Why do we go see movies? To escape, to learn something, or to feel something. Dunkirk perfectly captures all three and, like the movie, this review will come to you in three parts.
One, to escape. Watching this movie was a truly immersive experience. When the planes darted around I felt dizzy. When the soldiers gasped for air as their boat went under I could feel their anxiety and tried to reach out myself, and swim for the surface. When a bomb blew up I felt I was in danger. The suspense built throughout this movie reached levels only a true master can dream of. I don't know what made me feel this way, and maybe I'm not supposed to know. Maybe the intent wasn't for the audience to go searching for the origin, but something about this movie made me care deeply about every single character. Maybe because most of the men were just baby- faced little boys, whether they were top billing or an extra with less than a second of screen time, I wanted to rescue them. Which precisely encapsulates the history of the mission. Dunkirk was a rescue mission. They tried to save every young man stuck on that beach that day. And I could feel that. I felt in with the characters, like I knew them and was in the same boat. I wanted to survive just as much as them, but we wanted to survive together.
Two, to learn something. Dunkirk is obviously based on the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War Two. We talked briefly abut this in history class but not to any large extent. As a result, I was walking into the theater knowing little about what happened except the basics. Now, Nolan's characters are all fictional, but they are drawn from the real people that made the story. The movie is fast paces and taking place along a short stretch of time. The characters are always on edge and doing something, so there is little room for exposition about their own lives. However, there is some scattered throughout, perfectly placed so that you can have that, without ever feeling forced.
Three, to feel something. As I stated earlier, this movie forges a deep understanding and protective relationship with every single character. I feel like they are my babies and I want to make sure they are okay. The ending, which I won't spoil, is perfection itself. Capturing what must have been felt after Dunkirk was evacuated: relief, exhaustion, and victory.
Throughout the movie there is a constant, underlying ticking noise. A clock, which they are up against. The rounds of a revolver, pointed at their heads. A fighter plane getting ready to fire, swirling above them, squealing.
Obviously, this is One Direction's Harry Styles's acting debut. And yes, he can act. He's got a lot to learn, sure. But he's got raw talent you can see in this movie and I expect we will see many times in the near future.
All across the board, performances are spectacular. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and this chain would be unbreakable. Each actor providing a step up for their partner in a scene as they build each other up. A little note I have is that most of the soldiers looked very similar. Dark hair, big eyes, and a stiff face. I assume this was a very conscious choice for the director to make.
Dunkirk has three simultaneous and interspersed story lines. This works well for making sure you don't lose interest, but it depends deeply on your ability to recognize the actors. This goes back to all the soldiers looking the same. There was a part that I found to be an unnecessary tear-jerking attempt, but that's not to say it at all spoiled my enjoyment of the movie.
I'm not going to go into Nolan because we all know he's proved himself as someone who can do this. However, I will say, though I am not a huge fan and haven't seen everything he's made, this is unlike anything I've seen his name attached to. It all felt so real, a stark contrast to the inception approach that nothing is.
And last but not least, it's just really pretty. The wides and close ups and deep emotion each shot brings, whether you're conscious of it or not.
You will find your heart beating and breaking from the opening credits to the end.