1917

During World War I, two British soldiers -- Lance Cpl. Schofield and Lance Cpl. Blake -- receive seemingly impossible orders. In a race against time, they must cross over into enemy territory to deliver a message that could potentially save 1,600 of their fellow comrades -- including Blake's own brother. 

World War 1 films are always hard-hitting, especially when they add a feeling of drama and raw emotion into them - because of the real sense and feel that they provide to viewers, 1917 is a film which focuses on that. On paper, 1917 looks to be a great film - not only does it have a great selection of actors and characters, but it is also headed up by Sam Mendes, who directed 'Skyfall'. To add to this, as I mentioned, World War 1 films give a really raw and immersive feeling - which combined with the great lineup of actors, means that surely this is going to be a top film? Will it be a victory, or is the film more of a white flag? Here are my thoughts.

1917 feels really well put together, and the combination of the storyline and emotive characters really helps to bring the story to life, a key part of this though is the introduction of the film, where it introduces us to the plot and the characters of the film. It feels really well done, using scenes to show us the soldiers laying around in peaceful fields, and then walking through trenches and barracks gives us a great insight not only into the scenery but also into the feeling of the film, it provides a really tense and unpredictable nature through quiet and nervous scenes, where we expect lots of action and noise, but then we actually seem to be lured into a false sense of security sometimes, with the film using a variety of twists and unpredictable scenes to keep the film flowing well, whilst staying fresh. I really like the starting scene to the film though, the contrast between the peaceful fields and the noise of the barracks provide two completely different themes, which helps to summarise the film – all whilst giving us emotional and powerful insights into the characters.

The film also gives a really useful insight into the relationships of the two main characters, through dialogue and character interactions which is really important, because even though the film essentially focuses on the two main characters, the side characters such as generals and other soldiers do provide an important insight into the culture and emotions throughout the film. As well as this though, it introduces the purpose/story of the film really early too which helps to provide something to create a story, and also to prevent us from not really knowing why the characters do certain things – the introduction of the mission is presented in a really tense and exciting manner, which creates a feeling of excitement, adventure and progression throughout the film – which keeps it exciting from start to end. One of my favourite elements about the film though is the time it is set in, World War 1 films are typically sidelined by World War 2 films, due to the historical importance that it has – but this film shows a really powerful and raw feeling, with scenes such as breaking through barbed wire onto the battleground and stepping over dead bodies of people and animals. This adds a really powerful sense of brutality to the film which helps to not only give it a realistic feeling, but also adds intensity and realism into the film, which makes for a much more intense and exciting storyline – scenes like shootouts in the church, as well as swimming through lakes with dead bodies in and battlefields are all hard-hitting, but make for some really breathtaking scenes which essentially give the film a series of ‘checkpoints’.

These checkpoints involve a specific task/choice which the character must overcome, I really like this format, because not only does it give the film a sense of excitement at various different stages throughout it, but it also helps to keep the film flowing well too – by spreading them out. These checkpoint/mission scenes are fairly long-winded, but this helps to really immerse us and entertain us, by getting us actively involved and immersed within what the characters are doing, and the importance of each step that they take – the lengthy process of building them up is key though, because it builds up excitement, and helps to maintain a steady level of intensity and excitement to the film. The addition of sudden explosions and traps also ensure that the film stays interesting and engaging, because it makes each scene feel ‘risky’ and that an element of luck is required, which keeps us on edge, whilst helping to add excitement to the film, such as fast-paced escapes such as running from the burning town, and escaping the German bunker – these all combine together to provide a series of quick, yet powerful and exciting scenes.

The unpredictable nature of the film is also good too because it helps to keep the film fresh and flowing well, scenes like Blake being stabbed is executed as such a surprise and sudden twist that it really hits us hard, whilst also showing an element of danger to the characters – because of the great emotional bonds that the film creates due to following Blake and Schofield on their journey, it is hard-hitting and really evokes a powerful emotional response from us because of the personal characteristic that the film provides. What I really like about this film though is the variety of environments and sceneries that we follow the characters through, seeing their relationship develop and adapt as they travel through the gory battlefields, to the quick shots in the German trenches, and then even the excitement of the truck getting stuck in the mud, and then the shootout in the church, the film definitely adds a theme of progression which helps to give it an adventure/mission feeling whilst staying exciting. 

I absolutely love the final scene of the film though, the intensity, the excitement and the rush of Schofield as he runs through the battlefield to reach the Captain is just fantastic and really the climax of the film, not only does it feel like it relieves the emotions and action of the film, but it also provides a really exciting scene, seeing him running through and bumping into other soldiers whilst still maintaining his field of view, it really feels like a great climax to the film and is arguably one of the best parts of the film.

1917 feels really well put together, and the combination of the storyline and emotive characters really helps to bring the story to life, a key part of this though is the introduction of the film, where it introduces us to the plot and the characters of the film. It feels really well done, using scenes to show us the soldiers laying around in peaceful fields, and then walking through trenches and barracks gives us a great insight not only into the scenery but also into the feeling of the film, it provides a really tense and unpredictable nature through quiet and nervous scenes, where we expect lots of action and noise, but then we actually seem to be lured into a false sense of security sometimes, with the film using a variety of twists and unpredictable scenes to keep the film flowing well, whilst staying fresh. I really like the starting scene to the film though, the contrast between the peaceful fields and the noise of the barracks provide two completely different themes, which helps to summarise the film – all whilst giving us emotional and powerful insight into the characters. The film also gives a really useful insight into the relationships of the two main characters, through dialogue and character interactions which is really important, because even though the film essentially focuses on the two main characters, the side characters such as generals and other soldiers do provide an important insight into the culture and emotions throughout the film. As well as this though, it introduces the purpose/story of the film really early too which helps to provide something to create a story, and also to prevent us from not really knowing why the characters do certain things – the introduction of the mission is presented in a really tense and exciting manner, which creates a feeling of excitement, adventure and progression throughout the film – which keeps it exciting from start to end.

One of my favourite elements about the film though is the time it is set in, World War 1 films are typically sidelined by World War 2 films, due to the historical importance that it has – but this film shows a really powerful and raw feeling, with scenes such as breaking through barbed wire onto the battleground and stepping over dead bodies of people and animals. This adds a really powerful sense of brutality to the film which helps to not only give it a realistic feeling, but also adds intensity and realism into the film, which makes for a much more intense and exciting storyline – scenes like shootouts in the church, as well as swimming through lakes with dead bodies in and battlefields are all hard-hitting, but make for some really breathtaking scenes which essentially give the film a series of ‘checkpoints’. These checkpoints involve a specific task/choice which the character must overcome, I really like this format, because not only does it give the film a sense of excitement at various different stages throughout it, but it also helps to keep the film flowing well too – by spreading them out. These checkpoint/mission scenes are fairly long-winded, but this helps to really immerse us and entertain us, by getting us actively involved and immersed within what the characters are doing, and the importance of each step that they take – the lengthy process of building them up is key though, because it builds up excitement, and helps to maintain a steady level of intensity and excitement to the film.

The addition of sudden explosions and traps also ensure that the film stays interesting and engaging, because it makes each scene feel ‘risky’ and that an element of luck is required, which keeps us on edge, whilst helping to add excitement to the film, such as fast-paced escapes such as running from the burning town, and escaping the German bunker – these all combine together to provide a series of quick, yet powerful and exciting scenes. The unpredictable nature of the film is also good too because it helps to keep the film fresh and flowing well, scenes like Blake being stabbed is executed as such a surprise and sudden twist that it really hits us hard, whilst also showing an element of danger to the characters – because of the great emotional bonds that the film creates due to following Blake and Schofield on their journey, it is hard-hitting and really evokes a powerful emotional response from us because of the personal characteristic that the film provides. What I really like about this film though is the variety of environments and sceneries that we follow the characters through, seeing their relationship develop and adapt as they travel through the gory battlefields, to the quick shots in the German trenches, and then even the excitement of the truck getting stuck in the mud, and then the shootout in the church, the film definitely adds a theme of progression which helps to give it an adventure/mission feeling whilst staying exciting. 

As well as the storyline, the characters are a large part of why this film is so enjoyable and why it feels so well made. Not only do they show an important ‘raw’ feeling to soldiers at that point in time, but they also help to distract from the war setting of the film, they help to create a clear barrier between the events of their journey and the mission, whilst also creating a story out of their emotions and experiences that they go through – which helps to make them feel so engaging. It features a realistic portrayal of a true remarkable story following the appalling journey of two soldiers having to call off the attack against Germany. I also feel that the film elevates the emotion and importance behind the film by adding in looking for Blake’s brother, it makes it much more important to the characters and adds emotional value too which gives the characters a purpose, and even though they save 1600 lives, it feels different that Blake’s main concern is for his brother, and gives a powerful message about him as a character. The camera angles that are used in order to follow characters and immerse us in the film is amazing too, creeping behind them, looking around corners and gingerly approaching abandoned buildings are all ways in which the camera angles allow the film to engage us as the third soldier, adding value to the others, whilst keeping us in prime positions to witness the action. The actual characters feel really great and interesting too, each of them references their past in England, before the war, which gives them a genuine characteristic, and shots where they look at photos of their families also helps to focus on the emotional impact that the mission and war has on the characters. This is supported by the emotive and genuine language that is used by the characters to demonstrate a clear feeling for not only the mission but events and general attitudes of the soldiers, the pessimistic attitude of them helps to personify the ‘doom and gloom’ that the soldiers would have felt being stuck in the trenches, as well as the element of danger and distress too. This emotive dialogue not only helps to provide a much more genuine feeling to the characters, but it also helps to distract from the war setting, and to focus more on the characters and their emotions for a short while.

The characters are just generally exciting and genuine though, seeing them gingerly exploring new territories, and the emotion that they show throughout helps to make them feel really exciting and real – this helps to make them seem exciting, films that have boring main characters are destined to flop because there is nothing exciting or enjoyable to grip onto and follow – but here the characters feel not only genuinely exciting, but they feel raw too in terms of the emotions that they show in different scenarios – from crying to pure anger and distress, we really get a broad overview of who they are. The film also uses this in a combination with great audio and visual cues too in order to evoke responses from us, such as long audio pauses, and changes in camera angles, they really contribute to making us feel tense and nervous throughout, whilst always on our toes. The engagements with civilians also help to create a personal feeling to the characters too, seeing how they interact with them, and the emotions shown by the civilians really helps to create a general overview about how strongly the war impacted people emotionally and seeing scenes such as Schofield interacting with the French woman helps to distract from the war background scene, whilst raising tension about his escape for the story to progress. The acting is great though, even though we don’t see many other characters for too long due to the consistent movement and transport, we don’t really get an idea as to who characters are, although George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman provide great and emotional performances, which keeps the film feeling exciting and enjoyable, all whilst seeing the real challenges and emotions that surround war. 

The film wasn’t all victorious though and had a few problems which did affect the overall enjoyment and authenticity value of the film, firstly there are a few too many clichés, the main of which involves the encounter with the French woman, it just feels far too convenient that she knows just enough English to make broken communication about her feelings for him, and her emotions – to be honest, it would’ve been fresh to see no understanding between the two characters, as we’ve seen this kind of thing far too many times before. Although it was executed well so that counts for something I guess. As well as this, I was slightly disappointed with how the original mission was established, it felt like a few lines of dialogue, there wasn’t a massive amount of urgency in this scene and it just doesn’t feel strongly emphasised enough for me in terms of the impact of the mission, and the challenges they can expect, it just feels a little too vague and rushed to have a strong and lasting impact, this meant that, for me, the original mission wasn’t a massive element of the films urgent feeling, it felt overshadowed by the challenges and tasks that the characters complete, and the odd dialogue reminding us about it is helpful, but until we reach the amazing final scene running along the battleground in a suicide mission, there just doesn’t seem to be this level of urgency or intensity in the film which is a real shame. 

Overall, I would give this film an 8.5. I thought it was great, and it was full of great scenes such as the final run across the battleground, the film feels intense whilst providing a realistic and important insight into the strategies of the British army and the emotions and feelings that soldiers would have felt during the war. The film also offers a lot of excitement, it feels really well put together and the inclusion of ‘sub-missions’ help the films plot to flow together really well, making it easy to interpret and follow ll of the way through.

Thank you for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did watching the film and writing this review, I hope you have a lovely day! If you would like to check out my Official Facebook page where you can see sneak previous and more film insights then please consider checking out the link below!

https://www.facebook.com/Film-Talk-605719843173687/