Irate

‘1917’ is a masterwork in cinematography

By JASON GUYER
One of the negative aspects of films is that they can start to feel similar. This unfortunate reality happens more often in a couple types of films such as comedies and horrors. There are so many that one slapstick comedy can feel the same as all the rest, or one ghost story is the same as another ghost story. Encountering such a situation can detract someone from watching what could be a good film and that is a shame.

War movies can also be like this.

Just recently, there was a World War II film called “Midway” released in theaters. Anyone who saw it probably had similar feelings towards it as they would have with films like “Pearl Harbor” or “USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage.” These examples are showy, extravagant or bombastic style war films that are made with excessive antics and massive explosions.

There is another type of war film, however, one that I quite prefer, that is less about the show and more about the substance. These are films like Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” or “The Deer Hunter.”

One film that can now join the ranks is the recently released “1917.”

“1917” takes place during World War I following two British soldiers — Lance Corporal Schofield and Lance Corporal Blake — as they receive orders for a daunting mission: cross over into enemy territory to deliver a message.

The message holds the lives of 1,600 of their fellow comrades on the front lines in the balance, including Blake’s own brother.

Sam Mendes directs “1917” and the story is loosely based/inspired by stories his grandfather told him.

What Mendes creates with “1917” is nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece.

The film in its entirety may not be a “Godfather” level masterpiece but in technical ability and cinematography it surely is.

While Mendes deserves a lot of credit for the film’s greatness, so does cinematographer Roger Deakins. Deakins’ camera work is master level. The camera technique behind “1917” is called “one-shot” or “continuous shot.” This style has been done before, most notably by Alfred Hitchcocko in “Rope.” This is when a film is essentially shot in one long take.

To be fair, one take is a misnomer. Although the scenes are shot in one take, the film may still have cuts — often hidden. Well, not always, since “1917” cuts to black once and that is very obviously a cut but they work that cut into the story and that is wonderful.

This type of film has been done before, but not in such an ambitious way. Doing or using one-shot or continuous shot for a war movie is absolutely wonderful and a task that could only be described as challenging.

The actors have to be on point for long scenes and risk losing the ability to get things perfect through many takes of each scene.

In “1917,” the scenes are long and well-rehearsed in advance of actually shooting the film.

With the shooting of each scene, actors had to know their dialogue and hit marks/positions so the actors and cameras could essentially be choreographed in a way to not hinder each other. The two places in the film where this type of shooting makes all the difference is the first 30 minutes of the film and the climactic battlefield scene. The film starts with two soldiers napping but quickly gets the two men into the trenches. Trench warfare was a huge part of World War I. In “1917,” you get the feeling that as the two men walk the trenches in a choreographed dance with the camera that is seamless it makes the audience feel as if they are there walking with the men. This feeling of being apart of the film is one of the reasons watching films can become such a magical experience.

There are moments where the story takes over and the camera work takes a little more of a back seat but those moments are few and far between. The camera work makes you feel everything in “1917.” The audience may even connect with the cinematography of “1917” more than they do with the characters.

The battlefield scene is one of the most beautiful shots you will see in any film, anywhere. The shooting of “1917” is by far the best aspect of the film. There is a behind-the-scenes extended featurette on YouTube that shows everything you need to know about the shooting of “1917.”

As for the rest of the film, that is where the film stalls and can’t quite become a masterpiece. The pair of soldiers are played by Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay respectively.

Dean-Charles Chapman people may know as Tommen Baratheon on “Game of Thrones.” George MacKay is a bit less-known but was in last years “Ophelia” and was in “Captain Fantastic” with Viggo Mortensen.

The pair of actors are fine, but there is a lack of depth character-wise, so there is nothing to really complain about in their performances. Therefore, the sole complaint is that the actors and their characters didn’t have enough depth.

Quite frankly, that is the only downside to “1917.” The story is very linear but that should make sense because so is the plot. Characters trying to get from point A to point B in a set amount of time.

All in all, “1917” delivers an experience like no other. In one scene, one of the two main characters falls into a river and as he flows down river he gets to a dam and that dam is stacked with dead soldiers that the main character literally has to crawl over to survive.

World War I was one of the deadliest wars in history with 9 million soldiers and 7 million civilians killed as a direct result of one event or moment in history.

It only gets worse from there as some genocides and the 1918 influenza outbreak are attributed to resulting from that war and killed another 50 to 100 million.

This is the best aspect of “1917”: the film gives an up-close look at the true cost of war, and the camera work demonstrated throughout makes you feel part of it.

If your asking for an experience when you go to the theater, can you get better than that.

IRATE SCORE: 4.5/5

Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected].

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