1917

2019 was an amazing year for films, but 1917 is what takes the cake. After watching 1917 win the Golden Globes for “Best Picture” and “Best Director”, I knew that I needed get my ass to the nearest IMAX theater as soon as possible to see what the hype was about. I knew that the movie was going to be a technical feat from promotions (the movie, it seems, was shot in one continuous shot with little to no edits), so I was expecting something big. And boy, did it live up to expectations.

Schofield and Blake

The story follows two young British soldiers, Blake and Schofield as they make their way across the battlefield during WW1 to deliver a message to the 2nd Battalion of Devonshire regiment that they are walking into a trap. If they do not make it, 1600 men will die, including Blake’s brother. How’s that for a dramatic need?

The movie opens with a commanding officer telling Blake to fetch his “kit” and select his partner. He picks up his rifle and extends his hand to his napping soldier: Schofield. I loved the film’s ability to “show and not tell”. With a movie with this one-shot structure, the film needs to do all it can to show the audience the story because of the dangerous potential for the movie to be overwhelmed with dialogue to move the story forward. With Schofield accepting Blake’s offer for adventure, we know that these two are in for a ride and are bound together by this one handshake.

Blake and Schofield receive their orders to deliver their message, and with no hesitation, Blake is off to save his brother. Schofield, however, is a little more hesitant and thoughtful about this, whereas Blake is thinking with his heart. This makes us fall for Blake almost instantly as his intentions are pure even if his head is not in the right place to make decisions. I don’t want to go into the acting in this review because I know nothing about it, but rest assured, I felt very comfortable and immersed in this story and trusted the actors to take me on this adventure. They did not let me down. Phenomenal performances by both of the actors.

[Insert) Bayonet Blake

The duo make their way across the trenches, passing by hundreds of wounded, exhausted, non-hopeful young men. It’s a sad sight to see, but I felt like I was in the trenches with these young men, despite being in a recliner seat with two cupholders. I feel like this movie is better sold through its technical feats than it’s story. It’s a rather simple story, but with how the director, Sam Mendes, wanted to film it, I understand why.

As we journey across No-Man’s Land , we get some of the most gruesome pictures of the aftermath of war ever seen on the big screen. It’s soul-less and feels like Hell on Earth. It’s hard to see our protagonists trek through the disemboweled bodies while unsure of their fates as well. They are all alone at this point in the movie, no longer with their battalion. There’s a moment in the movie when they reach the abandoned German bunker that I appreciated where they realized that the Germans are not “long-gone” because of the residue of a fire left in a bin. Little details like that are reasons why this movie is so spectacular. Again, silent nods to not only move the story forward and add tension, but to inform the characters of the situations at hand as well.

Another brief moment that I admired was when Schofield takes a second to admire a photo pinned on the bed of the German solider’s quarters. I wish the movie had more moments like these to show that war has two sides and is heartbreaking to everyone.

[Insert) “Last Man Standing”

Some moments in the movie felt kind of forced or as some would call it “very Hollywood”. An example being a rat is what sets off a tripwire in the German bunker causing the first loud explosion in the movie really. Or Blake taking the time to tell funny stories to Schofield to lighten up the tension and give Blake some needed character development. I wasn’t sure how they were going to do it with such a time-driven movie, but I guess this was the only way to do it? I don’t know, felt kind of forced at times, but well-shot I will say! The scene of the pair walking through a sea of flowers was a nice departure from the bloodbath we were subject to earlier. Also, a dog fight (plane fight) results in a plane crashing right in front of our leads, which results in a german dying to get out of his burning plane. Silly, until this next plot point…

At one point, Blake is trying to save the German from near death, however, the German, probably out of sheer fear, stabs Blake in the abdomen. Schofield finishes the German off and tends to Blake’s wounds. He is bleeding a lot and the color is actively draining from his face (so cool, how the film makers did this). Like 20–30 minutes in the film, our main lead dies! After an emotional and gut-punching death, the story shifts to Schofield, who’s now more motivated than ever to deliver his friend’s message and save Blake’s brother (in honor of Blake) The tone shifts are so immediate in this film. You (Schofield, as well) aren’t given enough time to grieve for the loss of our character because of the time crunch. We need to keep moving forward. Not a criticism, I just like how realistic it feels.

Here’s where the movie kind of loss some points for me. The movie is heavily advertised as a “one-shot” movie, I’m not sure if they ever said this out loud, but it’s heavily implied. Near the halfway point, Schofield is shot by a German soldier in the ruins of a church and he passes out. And we wake up hours later with him. I was heavily disappointed seeing that the filmmakers had a cut here. I’m not sure what I wanted, but I wish that they had kept rolling and explained the time-jump in some other way. It would have made a more compelling scene in my opinion and kept me engaged in the story. I was really taken out of it when he was shot and we faded to black for a second. I get it, it’s hard to shoot an entire WAR movie in one shot, but maybe don’t advertise it like that next time?

Anyways, this scene is followed by an amazingly lit (literally lit) scene of Schofield running through these German ruins, trying his best to avoid gunfire. I can’t say enough about this scene because I can’t imagine how hard it was to create a compelling set with this type of “flare-gun” lighting. It was incredible to watch and definitely the highlight of the film for me.

[Insert) How they filmed this

One scene that felt very Hollywood, but necessary, was when he found a woman and a child hiding in the German ruins with gunfire literally everywhere you turn. They are just living in there for no reason and not even attempting to make it out. I guess they really like it there. Schofield has a tender moment with the woman and “her child” and he sings this beautiful tune in the dead silent. This was one of my favorite parts of the movie as well, as it gave Schofield so much depth. That in the middle of this hectic scene of him literally running for his life, he can stop and acknowledge the beauty in life and how we shouldn’t let war ruin our lives even in the most tragic situations. Keep on moving forward as he does when he leaves the mother and the child in the iconic “man going off to war” scenario.

He jumps in a charging river to evade death and there was one quiet moment that I truly believed he was going to die, but he is awaken by the aforementioned flowers that Blake was discussing about his childhood. Maybe that’s why they had story time with Blake in the film. In any case, it was encouraging to watch him catch a second wind from the thought of his friend. Somehow, he makes it to the Blake’s brother’s battalion after washing up at the end of the river and hearing this beautiful song sung by a soldier in the battalion. He takes a moment to grieve and listen to the music and ponder all that he’s been through in the last 10 hours and at that moment, we see get another glimpse at the heartbreak of war. Seeing the frame of all these young men putting their lives on the line for what feels like the last time. It’s crushing to see.

Schofield makes it to Benedict Cumberbatch and delivers the message. He is told to “fuck off” afterwards. No thanks given at all for his heroic efforts. He makes his way to the infirmary tent to find Blake’s brother and after the camera pans around some of the most horrific injuries, we finally get to see him. Oh my god, the tears I almost shed when Schofield explained to Blake’s brother that Blake had died. Seeing his brother try to hold in his grief was so upsetting for me. Let it out man. Blake’s brother is the first to thank Schofield for his journey and service.

Schofield finds a tree similar to the one he was leaning on in the opening scene of the movie and opens up a picture of what is presumed to be his wife and daughter. He wants to come back home.

This was just an incredible film to watch. Maybe it’s good that it wasn’t what I expected when I first walked into the theaters. Maybe it’s good that it was very Hollywood because it gave me the moments that I truly enjoyed the most. I didn’t expect to see Blake die in the first 1/3 of the movie, but that ended up being such a good choice because of how much story they gave him in the beginning 1/3. It was enough to carry the emotional weight throughout the entire movie. Maybe it’s good that Schofield took a backseat in the beginning and drove the rest of the movie home. I go to the movies to be immersed and feel like I’m being taken on a journey. I don’t like to know everything that’s going to happen in a film, and this was one of those movies that was expertly done. Yes, you can expect some things to happen like maybe that he was going to make it in the end, but you didn’t expect Schofield’s journey to be as emotional as it was. At least, I didn’t.

If there’s any movie you should shell some extra cash on to see in IMAX, this is the one.

9.0/10

Best,

Frank