Any time a director attempts to create a film based on historical events, there is almost immediately a line of detractors just waiting for some unnecessary revision or inaccurate retelling of what really happened. Sometimes, changes are necessary from a narrative point-of-view. In other cases, it is simply the filmmaker presenting their vision for audiences to judge accordingly. All early reports have stated that Dunkirk, the latest from Christopher R. Nolan, is one of the best war films of all time. With such hype thrust upon any film, I always attempt to go in with lower expectations so I can see the film with as clear a mind as possible. Yet, as I walked out of the theater, I found myself asking a slightly different question…was this really one of the greatest war films of all time?
Director Christopher Nolan has proven himself time and again with such films as Memento (2000), The Dark Knight (2008) and Interstellar (2014). He has developed quite the following and his fans eagerly await word on any new project he is working on. The hype for Dunkirk has been the talk at the water cooler for a while now as the early buzz had fans of war films, as well as history buffs, eager to see Nolan’s vision of one of the biggest war disasters of all time. The story is well-known as being one of the turning points in the early days of World War II. Between May 26 and June 4, 1940, several hundred thousand Allied troops from Belgium, France and England were desperately trying to evacuate the harbor of Dunkirk, France as they were surrounded by German troops. It was a tense and grueling series of days for those men and women and it is there that Nolan succeeds.
From the opening moments to the closing credits, there is a constant feeling of increasing tension as the tale unfolds. The story is told through the eyes of several different characters, ranging from the pilots trying in vain to protect the men below to several officers attempting to flee Dunkirk to the ship at sea piloted by a man and two boys answering the call for help in transporting the forces home. Once the action kicks into gear, you never get a chance to breathe and it leaves you feeling almost exhausted and relieved at the end of the nearly two hour running time.
Nolan also succeeds in tremendous visual displays of war time conflict with fiery explosions set against a dull gray background, again accomplishing a feeling of hopelessness. This adds to the constant tension while the Hans Zimmer soundtrack plays subtly in the background…perhaps too subtly. The bombastic soundtrack present in the trailers is nowhere to be found. I know that is in direct correlation to the vision of Nolan but, ultimately, it comes across as a weak point for me. I wasn’t as impressed by what many are saying is Zimmer’s best work. Unfortunately, I think this may well be the hype machine at work.
There is also a lack of character development that, again, I’m sure was intentional from Nolan’s perspective. However, it leaves you not even knowing who the different characters really are as we are never told most of their names, let alone their back story. It might not be necessary in the overall story arc and purpose of the film but when you have such an impressive cast as Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Harry Styles, I think they deserved better. It left me feeling detached from them and, as a result, not as connected when characters were facing certain death. I didn’t really know them enough to care as much as I should have.
There are issues with Tom Hardy’s character and just how long he keeps his plane in the air after losing the engines, as well as an odd sequence where the Germans appear to be much closer at one place on the beach than they were not too much farther down the shoreline. Another troubling aspect of the film is the non-linear storytelling. It was confusing at times as to when the event we’re witnessing on screen actually occurred. Ultimately, by the end of the film, you understand where all the puzzle pieces fit but the journey to get there was a confusing one and the result not as satisfying as it should have been. But again, I believe this is exactly the vision that Nolan was going for and his eager fans will surely be impressed.
Dunkirk is not a perfect film and is certainly not a typical July release. It is in contrast to other films in theaters right now and I think it might have benefited greatly from a different release date, perhaps closer to the fall or spring. It is a well-made film but the marketing for Dunkirk would have you believe it’s the next Saving Private Ryan or Full Metal Jacket, which it is not. It is certainly worth seeing but be prepared for a different type of war film and one that just might not be on your personal list for greatest war films of all time.
