Title - 1917
Studio - Universal Pictures
Starring - George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Richard Madden, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott
Writer - Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Director - Sam Mendes
Release - 10 January 2020
No movie was shot more beautiful, in my opinion, than 1917 by Roger Deakins and Sam Mendes.
It had a very simple plot, but it was the journey that made it so compelling. And George MacKay's performance, with Dean-Charles Chapman, carried the movie from beginning till the end with great supporting performances from the bigger names.
And what a brilliant choice in the casting, putting two actors who were quite unknown to lead the movie. Though their names may not be remembered still as of now, but their performances will be.
My only critic would be the meeting of two individuals who were not soldiers somewhere in the middle of the movie. I thought it still followed a traditional formula (albeit proven) in order to show humanity in times of war, but I would have liked to see a different group of individuals that the heroes bumped into.
Mendes use of humour and shock value stood out from the very beginning and were also very inline with the tone of the movie, and they kept the audience's attention with an expectation so that the focus would always be onscreen.
No doubt that opening sequence, however many minutes of the uncut single shot, was mindblowing and breathtaking; and really showed the depth and breadth of the set design. But the entire movie looked almost like it was taken in a single shot, a la Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance).
This movie is going to rank very high on my list of this year's best.
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