Review of 1917 (2019) by Rebecca31 — 19 Jan 2020

Set during WWI, two young British soldiers Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are given an impossible mission, to deliver a message to call off a planned attack that would see 1,600 men walk straight into a trap. 1917 follows these two soldiers on their deadly mission across enemy territory. You're going to feel every minute of this film because it's a outstanding story and a masterclass in film making.

MacKay and Chapman quickly meld into their characters, you can no longer see the acting and you're thrown headfirst into this incredibly tense film. Throughout 1917 you could hear a pin drop it was that quiet, and my local cinema generally tends to sound something like a zoo at the best of times so for it to be that quiet is almost unheard of. With a nearly sold out screen, every single person was fully immersed in this spectacular War film. Expertly directed by Sam Mendes and complimented by a haunting soundtrack by Thomas Newman. The score is beautiful and it looks like it will be a very close competition between Newman and Hildur Guðnadóttir's Joker soundtrack.

I should have known the cinematographer was Roger Deakins and his decision to film 1917 as a series of long takes is extremely bold and ambitious. At nearly two hours it plays out like one continuous shot, it's truly stunning and I can't imagine the amount of work that went into that. The sweeping camera work is skilfully done and it's near impossible to see the edits. All the behind the scenes work should pay off because I believe 1917 is going to clean up at the Oscars and rightly so. If you've made it this far without seeing the trailer then keep it that way because the trailer does this film no justice. It honestly gave me the impression that this was a generic Oscar bait war movie. This far from the case, 1917 is an original take on a war film and I know it's early in the year to say this but we've already seen one of the best films of the year. A film that needs to be seen on the big screen, so what are you waiting for, get to a cinema and see 1917. Highly recommended.