'DUNKIRK' - REVIEW

Release Date: Friday 21st July (UK Release)

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Written By: Christopher Nolan

Produced By: Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan

Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Glynne-Carney, Cillian Murphy, Jack Lowden, Tom Hardy and Kenneth Brannagh

Distributed By: Warner Brothers Pictures

Widely regarded as bringing about the reinvention of the modern blockbuster, Christopher Nolan has come a long way from his 1998 debut 'Following', which gave hints to an inventive and boundary pushing director. It wasn't until his 2000 breakout feature 'Memento' however which proved that greatness would be upon Nolan with his unique manipulation of time serving to provide a new way of storytelling as well as allowing the audience to be challenged through intellectual story telling. Now, 17 years down the line after revitalising the superhero genre, taking us into the mind of a corporate CEO, deducing a deadly feud between two victorian magicians and taking us through wormholes in the near future, Nolan returns with in  many ways his most personal film yet.

The year is 1940 and British forces have been pushed back from France to the beaches of Dunkirk. As over 400,000 men wait along the shoreline stranded, the enemy closes in by both land and air. With the British Navy having to hold off their ships in preparation for the coming attack, it's a story of determination and endurance as safety lies so close yet so far. 

One of the first things noticeable about Nolan's latest epic (the only word to describe the sheer scale of this picture) is that the depth of the characters may seem somewhat lacklustre in comparison to some of his other works. Indeed the silent cinema techniques utilised here result in minimal dialogue with a reliance on visual story telling. 

Despite some characters not even receiving a complete arc, it becomes clear that this is a story about the event and not a display of how every character is feeling and their individual goals. Due to the nature of the event taking place, the characters used are taken from numerous perspectives, the soldiers on the beach, civilians, officers and pilots resulting in a canvas of character experiences, changing the tone of the narrative from being potentially laced with sentimentality, to one of visceral integrity. That’s not to say the lack of dialogue results in poor performances as across the board, all actors bring their A game. In particular Cillian Murphy’s shellshocked officer and Mark Rylance’s Mr Dawson shine in their shared scenes in displaying two men conflicted between doing what’s right for themselves and a moral obligation. 

As the aforementioned silent cinema techniques are displayed, much of the performances are made up simply of facial expressions. From moments of sheer panic and bewilderment, to an expression of bitter defeat courtesy of Kenneth Branagh’s Naval Commander as he surveys the grey skies and smoking village behind the iconic beach. Should any particular accolade be given for powerful expressional performances however, the clear winner is Tom Hardy. Entirely consumed by headgear and breathing apparatus save for a pair of piercing eyes and some of the hardest working eyebrows in Hollywood, Hardy effortlessly conveys an individual who becomes the hero of the hour whilst barely exiting the cockpit of his Spitfire. 

As to be expected with Nolan, his approach to narrative is far from conventional, with the event split into three initially separate time periods. The soldiers perspective from the beach taking place over the course of a week, Mr Dawson’s attempted ‘pleasure craft’ rescue over the course of a day and the experience of three pilots over the course of an hour. These three narratives manage to intertwine at various instances before becoming one towards the third act, making for another unique storytelling experience all bound perfectly by frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer’s breathtakingly immersive score. Serving to initially set the tone of dread and despair, Zimmer then begins to turn the screw and ratchet up the tension to Hitchcockian levels, sure to bring the audience member to utilise that edge of the seat, rarely deemed necessary by cinema goers these days. 

In order to bring about the sense of being fully immersed within the panic and disorder of the events over those days, the diegetic sound used, results in one of the most engaging experiences and expertly succeeds in executing Nolan’s original pitch for the film in being a virtual reality experience without the goggles. Engines roar overhead and bullets whiz past in a frenzy of sound culminating in booms, decibel shattering enough to shatter the speaker system. 

Alongside his championing of time manipulation as a story telling device, Nolan also executes his flair for huge scale story telling. Choosing to yet again shoot on 70mm IMAX cameras now becoming something of a staple camera choice for him, it’s safe to say that IMAX has never been used to such effect before. Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema takes you right inside the action from the confined space of a Spitfire to the waterlogged hold of a sinking ship, ‘Dunkirk’ serves to visualise the horrors of war, without means of any gore or splatter but by no means underwhelming in terms of effect. Adding further to the scale and humanity of the situation is the abundance of practical effects, another welcome staple of Nolan’s filmography, the use of real vehicles including aircraft and historic naval vessels, adds a further layer of immersion and actuality to every scene. All of these factors are added to wonderfully by seeing this on the biggest screen possible, this is a visual blockbuster begging to be seen on the big screen, the way IMAX was meant to be seen. 

The pitfalls of Nolan’s historical epic, ironically enough lie within the historical facts themselves which will divide audiences on their preference on historical accuracy in the realm of Hollywood. The power of the iconic RAF Spitfire maybe somewhat emphasised to suit the plot, along with dramatising the state of the beaches which during that week were not the same as envisioned on the silver screen, the result of which would serve to change the entire narrative arc.

The dialogue too suffers somewhat with references to “Frogs” (The French) and accents being deemed “Thicker than Sauerkraut Sauce”, seeming misplaced in a film with weightier themes of the human spirit and endurance against seemingly insurmountable odds, themes which seem all the more essential given Britain’s post Brexit state. Whilst it may not stand as Nolan’s Magnum Opus, (arguably ‘Inception’ or ‘The Dark Knight’ stand in stronger contention) Nolan has delivered a blockbuster sure to put you through the ringer, leaving you to marvel at the level of visual art laid before you with Nolan creeping ever closer to gaining his status as the Kubrick for the 21st Century. 

“You can almost see it from here. Home” - Commander Bolton