Saw it, and halfway through I was looking at my watch and considering leaving the theater. There’s no character development so consequently, when a character dies, I really didn’t care. Nothing drew me in, and I’m sure the paucity of dialog had a lot to do with that.
The “let’s view this event in different timeframes from different perspectives, all simultaneously” was confusing and unnecessary, in other words, a gimmick, and one that didn’t work at all for me.
The notion of hundreds of thousands of troops stranded didn’t come across as we were only shown a few troops, standing around on a beach in neat orderly lines.
The heroic nature of those that braved the channel in little boats was completely missing, as was a feel for just how many boats actually took part in this amazing event in history. We were shown about a dozen and only one primarily.
Others have showered praise on how wonderful this was. I’m sure that it will win awards, though I would not give it one. Perhaps I’m not sophisticated or avant garde enough to appreciate how clever the director was being with this movie. Maybe I’m just too old school and appreciate a well told story with a defined beginning, middle and end along with a plot and character development that pulls me into the story.