1917 (2019)

I hate war and I hate war movies, but I'm glad I saw this riveting story of two British WWI soldiers crossing through enemy territory to deliver a message when the phone lines are down.

George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman are terrific as Scofield and Blake and there are cameos by Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, and Benedict Cumberbatch, among many others, as higher ranking officers. #OscarsSoMale, count the women in this movie.

Director/co-writer Sam Mendes has one of the ten Oscar nominations for this movie, co-written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, inspired by Mendes' grandfather's autobiography. They tasked the cast and cinematographer Roger Deakins, working with film editor Lee Smith, to make the movie appear to shot in one two-hour steadicam shot (except for one sequence). It was not, and I'm disappointed that Smith did not earn one of those nominations. Even a film buff such as I am had difficulty finding any cuts. Here's an Entertainment Weekly article about the cinematography and a page from the official movie website with some interactive features, including extensive use of storyboards. The actors rehearsed for six months so as to make the shots as long as possible.

One of my favorite Hollywood composers, Thomas Newman, has a provided the score, available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and more. Sadly, the song Poor Wayfaring Stranger, sung in the trailer and the movie by Jos Slovick, is not available.

1917 is likely to produce symptoms of Motion Picture Motion Sickness (here's my running list), so sit far back and/or medicate. I also used my sound muffling ear plugs during the screening. Bring yours if you have them and decide for yourself.

MacKay was last blogged for Captain Fantastic, Firth for Mary Poppins Returns, Scott for Denial (after his notable role as the sexy priest in Fleabag's second season), Cumberbatch for The Current War, Mendes for Spectre, Deakins for Blade Runner 2049, and Newman for Victoria & Abdul. Chapman played best friend Matt in Blinded by the Light (though I didn't mention him) as well as some Game of Thrones episodes (which I didn't see) and Smith won an Oscar for editing Dunkirk as well as a handful of other nominations.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are currently tied at 89%. Jack and I urge you to see this before the Oscars on February 9.