‘Dunkirk’ Is Possibly Christopher Nolan’s Finest Hour

William Penix
Jul 21, 2017 · 4 min read

Personally, watching movies from a critic’s perspective is simultaneously enjoyable and discomforting. On one hand, it’s fun to pick apart details, aesthetics and themes that a director or screenwriter will draw upon to give their project greater purpose. At the same time, tirelessly sending the mind into an intellectual tizzy makes finding genuine comfort pretty damn difficult — rigid theater chairs also do what they can to keep the subconscious uneasy, as well as strangers packed along either side of you.

I don’t have many personal rules regarding how to rate any given film, but there’s one in particular that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Only those films that effectively pull me out of the discomfort zone, while still maintaining a thoughtful, critical eye, can score a 4.5 or 5. If my mind and body can remain both relaxed and active, rather than completely subjugated to the ‘experience,’ then your film is in the top percentile in my eyes. Before last night’s showing of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, I’d seen 69 films from this current year, and four out of my top five have scored a 4.5 or 5.

I’d heard the hype — it’d have been hard not to — and went in as objective as possible despite the record of the man at the helm; god knows he’s let us down before. I’d be hard pressed, however, not to let this masterclass make it five out of five.

All I’d done to prepare myself for the film was watch a couple of YouTube videos from ScreenPrism about Nolan and his common directorial and storytelling tactics. One of the most recognizable traits, if not the most, of any Nolan film is non-linear storytelling, which doesn’t change for Dunkirk. The story is divided into three interwoven segments: the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk’s beaches, which spans a week, the civilian rescue across the channel, spanning one day, and the air battle between Allied and German planes over the course of one hour.

Dunkirk firmly underscores why Nolan is a master storyteller; even when the ending is known, he can still make invested detectives out of any audience member. The way he gradually releases tidbits of information and cohesively brings differently lengthy plotlines together, combined with punchy, decisive editing, is nothing short of stunning, as well as his maintaining a heightened level of almost overbearing suspense. Every cut, every scene’s placement within the narrative has purpose; no movement, no character or line of dialogue is wasted or under-emphasized.

Instead, Nolan crafts a typically disorienting, immersive experience that exponentially boils with tension, somehow without bursting and collapsing upon itself. His adamant use of and penchant for practical effects fail to lose their power through the narrative’s duration, and his minimal use of dialogue and silence makes suspicious fiends out of all any and all who sit before it. It’s unrelenting in depicting the horrors of war, yet avoids downplaying the heroism of the moments and the virtually unnamed protagonists that make them. Plus, even with no particular emphasis on one character or group of characters, Nolan’s use of subjectivity grabs us and pins us to the wall with immediate effect.

Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography is expectedly exceptional, aiding the film’s intensity but occasionally stepping back to capture an impressionist scope while avoiding the delusions of grandeur often common amongst war films. And though singing his praises has been moot point for some time, Hans Zimmer crafts a powerfully elegant score that rings as incessantly as the hail of bullets and bombs. Sound and music in so many blockbuster films highlight scenes in such a way that completely forsakes realism and lifts the drama to a comical degree, but Zimmer’s compositions manage to be grand, yet focused.

Complex structures and coinciding minimalist simplicity are the framework for Dunkirk’s profundity, and Nolan’s ability to make his film thrillingly compact without sacrificing an ounce of gravitas is as much a tale for the ages as the historic bravery depicted on screen. ‘Experience’ and ‘auteurist masterclass’ fit the bill, but hardly communicate the depth of what the film achieves. For technical prowess aside, Dunkirk’s greatest asset is its grip on conveying emotion, whether it be through Nolan’s insistence on naturalism or his command of a story, and making the audience feel just as the characters do; weary, but never broken down. Triumphant without forgetting the sacrifice committed and yet to come.

I believe it’s safe to say, speculative as it may be, that we have finally witnessed our first Best Picture frontrunner, and it’s currently difficult to imagine much else keeping up the pace.

5/5

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Creative stuff found at Pop Optiq, Screen Rant and Cut Print Film. I mostly write shit and review things. New aspirations of graduate school are on the horizon.

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