This past summer, director Christopher Nolan released his WWII epic Dunkirk, which told the story of how Allied civilians joined together to evacuate the beaches of Dunkirk while the enemy approached. The film was noted for its breathtaking cinematic shots, something Nolan is known for, (Inception anyone?) and for starring former One Direction member Harry Styles in his first feature. But is that enough for the film, which is up for 8 Oscars, to take home Oscar glory?
The editing and cinematography alone stood out to me when I watched this film. In fact, Lee Smith won the Critic’s Choice Award for editing, and is up again for the Best Editing Oscar. Although in large scale films such as Dunkirk it can be easy to forget that there is someone splicing the film together, Smith’s editing was one of the main reasons I enjoyed the film. Since many of the shots that further the narrative are shot in the close quarters of a boat, it can be easy to just quickly cut between each shot to hide the limited space. And although there are moments Smith does this, a notable scene where he doesn’t is the suspenseful scene where a troop of Allied soldiers are hiding in a beached boat when suddenly, they find their safe haven to be target practice for the enemy. Instead of making this scene a series of quick takes, Smith occasionally draws out the shot, making the viewer listen along with the soldiers whether or not the enemy is gone.
Dunkirk was also noted for the film’s incredible cinematography. In fact, Hoyte Van Hoytema is nominated for Best Cinematography. Dunkirk has been called ‘a war movie unlike any war movie you have ever seen,’ and although most of that is due to the lack of fighting in the film, the other side is the incredible visuals the film gives the viewer. This is where Dunkirk creates it’s poetic irony, it is in fact a beautiful film, despite the fact that its subject matter is quite the opposite. But for this film it works. Not only because the film tells a WWII story we have never fully seen before, but because it does so in a beautiful way. It contradicts film like Saving Private Ryan, which although it is one of the best films of all time, it is a very hard film to revisit because of its raw storytelling and visuals. And although Dunkirk does have those ‘hard to re-watch’ moments, after all it is a wartime film, there are almost twice the amount of scenes that you do want to study and review time and time again.
The film does fall flat when it comes to plot and character, which in a film nominated for Best Picture, you don’t want. This is why on my initial viewing, I frankly really didn’t like the film. The three main groups of characters had no real depth and I didn’t feel anything for them, which you usually do in war films such as this. Perhaps that is because two of the main plot groups (Commander Bolton and the group of young Allied soldiers) have been so over done that this take didn’t bring anything new to the table. The only plot I thought was interesting was the boat captained by Mr. Dawson, (Mark Rylance) since people like him make the actual history of Dunkirk so unique. In his case, he risks his life (possibly again since it is heavily hinted that he is a WWI vet) for his country, not as part of a military, but as a citizen of his country. If the film has cut out one of the more minor plots and doubled his, then perhaps it would be up for a screenplay Oscar as well. Instead the plots pile on top of each other leaving the viewer to beg for more cinematic overhead shots of Dunkirk.
Although I personally don’t think the film should receive Best Picture, I do strongly think that it should win for Best Cinematography and Best Editing as the film clearly exceeds in both departments.
