1917 (2019)
(On Cable TV, December 2020) World War I has long been neglected by Hollywood – WW2 gets all of the attention, and the technical improvements in digital cinema weren’t necessarily used to update the portrait of the Great War as much as they’ve been used to rethink other conflicts. But that’s all over with the arrival of 1917, which not only serves a big wide-scope view of the war that encompasses its multiple facets, but does it with an insane gamble: following two messengers through a pair of very, very, very long continuous shots giving viewers the immediacy of them being involved in the conflict without cuts away from the action. It’s a bravura performance from writer-director Sam Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins, and it works surprisingly well, what with the digital wizardry blending everything together as time passes unnaturally fast and yet we find our characters going from one episodic adventure to the other. The feeling left by this sweeping view of a large-scale conflict is gripping, and yet very personal for our two viewpoint characters. There’s something fascinating in seeing how modern filmmaking technology can enhance the immersive experience even further, and thanks to everyone involved in 1917, World War I has never felt so real, immediate and relevant.