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July 23, 2017

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Nolan’s Dunkirk is a visual masterpiece

THERE are no brothers in arms, no flashbacks to simpler times and pretty wives and girlfriends left behind, no old men in situation rooms pontificating about politics or helping with exposition. There’s no talk of Hitler, or Germans or battlefields or trauma or mothers. In fact, there’s hardly any talk at all, or, for that matter, even any characters in the traditional sense.

But don’t be mistaken: Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” is a masterpiece.

It’s a stunningly immersive survival film told in 106 thrillingly realized minutes. Nolan puts the viewer right in the action whether it’s on the beach with 400,000 men queued up and waiting for a rescue that may never come, on the waters of the English Channel in the little civilian ship headed into hostile waters with only an aging man and two teenage boys aboard, or in the air with two lone Spitfires that are running out of fuel.

I’ve never experienced anything quite like “Dunkirk’s” intoxicating immediacy. The screen and images envelope you with urgency, dread and moments of breathtaking beauty and grace as you wait with the soldiers for deliverance.

The story begins on the ground, with a young soldier, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) wandering the deserted streets of Dunkirk looking for water and a place to relieve himself. Propaganda flyers float down and read “Surrender + Survive,” as Hans Zimmer’s ominous score plays in the background. Occasionally we get the sobering perspective of the higher ups, compliments of the great Kenneth Branagh as Commander Bolton.

In the air there are the two Spitfire pilots, Farrier (played by Tom Hardy, whose face is largely obscured but who can act circles around many of his contemporaries) and Collins (Jack Lowden). They get to be the classical heroes of war films past as they shoot down the enemy. On the sea, the three civilians, Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance), Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and George (Barry Keoghan) who, like so many during the Dunkirk evacuation, took it upon themselves to captain their own small vessel and journey to help save their country’s stranded men. They’re the beating heart of film, especially when pitted against a shell shocked soldier (Cillian Murphy) who is determined to stop them from going back to Dunkirk.

These narratives intertwine and loop back and repeat from different vantage points with stunning effectiveness. Nolan finds suspense at every angle, and ramps up the tension with the help of Zimmer’s score. While, there might not be character arcs, the performances are first-rate, even that of pop star Harry Styles.

Nolan continues to be unparalleled in Hollywood — working on a scope that few are able to. As many filmmakers experiment with the small screen, Nolan has only gone bigger and bolder with his commitment to film and IMAX.

What a case “Dunkirk” is for the movie theater. Not only that, “Dunkirk” is far and away the best film of the year, and Nolan’s finest too.




 

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