1917

Have you ever had a friend try and talk you into doing something that wound up being a lot worse than they originally let on? The answer is yes, I’m sure but there’s a huge difference between someone getting you to try a cream cheese filled cupcake and you fearing for your life. Well, when it came to me being bamboozled by my girlfriend, the latter came into play. Recently, we went to Marfa, TX to celebrate our birthdays and while we were down there, she thought that it would be a great idea for us to go hiking in Big Bend.

She let me know that it was only a four- or five-mile hike and considering the fact that I run four miles a day, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal for me. Keep in mind that I grew up a sheltered black boy in the South, so the only hiking I was accustomed to was hiking to the grocery store to get more oil for the weekly fish fry in my dad’s backyard; so needless to say, I had no idea what I was in for.

We get to this mountain, and I do mean mountain, and I thought to myself, there’s no way in hell we’re going all the way to the top, it’s like 20 miles straight up. But I couldn’t let my girlfriend see the fear in my eyes, so I pressed on. Sadly however, as we kept walking, I told her that I needed a break, we had to be at least 2 miles in…we had only walked like a half mile at that point. And it was at this point that I noticed the signs all around us that told us to hide all our food and to beware of bears and mountain lions. Fucking bears and mountain lions?!?!? This was never presented to me in her pitch!

So now I’m forced to make a choice, if as were climbing Mt. Everest, I see a mountain lion jump out and attack my girl, do I jump in and help her out or do I use what little energy I had left to escape? Well I am not ashamed to admit that I chose the escape option. Sorry baby, the mountain lion already had white meat, there’s no need for me to jump in and give him a buffet with dark meat too! I’ll post our trip on Instagram, you’ll live forever in my memories or at least until the next Instagram comes along. I’ll be single by the time she reads this.

Anyway, that’s pretty much the premise of writer/director Sam Mendes’s (Skyfall, American Beauty) latest offering in 1917. When I first saw the title of this film, my initial thought was “Oh great! More people reminiscing about the ‘good old days’ that weren’t so great for my people”. But when I realized that it was a war movie about white people shooting other white people, I was immediately onboard! I’m kidding, I’m kidding of course, for all you super sensitive people. Well, sort of anyway. I did think that Mendes had it in him to give us a fresh perspective on WWI and as it turns out, I was right.

The story starts off by a random commander walking up to Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman -Tommen from Game of Thrones) and telling him to grab someone to go with him to headquarters. He of course grabs his buddy, Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) who’s sleeping and has no idea what he’s about to get into. Well once they get to headquarters, they are surprised to see that the General is there to task them with an important mission that could save over 1,600 lives; including that of Blake’s brother.

The British army is about to walk into a German trap and they have less than 24 hours to get the message over to them. And the General feels as though Blake will obviously risk life and limb to get this message over to the commanding officer in time as his family member’s life is on the line. So off he goes with his friend, who is now unwittingly in the shit with him, to walk in the middle of a war zone to save hundreds of lives. What makes this film more engaging and moving than that of a similar film in Dunkirk, is that while no backstory is given for these characters either, Mendes employs a filming trick to make it seem as though the entire movie is filmed in one shot. So, you get up close and personal with these characters and it feels as though you’re the first player in an RPG (role playing game for all my old peeps out there). You feel every bomb that goes off near them and are dodging every bullet that whizzes by them. And as you go through these experiences together, it feels as though you’re getting to know these characters on a personal level. You’re suffocating along with them as they’re being buried in falling rubble or are falling into a raging river. You’re leery as you’re about to come to the top of a hill with no idea if an ambush is awaiting you or not. And you start to think to yourself, if only the colonel had the new iPhone 11, we could simply send him a text message about the upcoming ambush and go hit up the nearest pub for a proper pint and some footie (that’s my attempt to be British). But then you realize that it’s only 1917 and that the phone was only invented just a few decades earlier, so you settle back in and continue this journey with your newfound brothers in arms.

And what else is so great about this filming style is that it puts the production design on full display. Dennis Gassner (production design) and cinematographer Roger Deakins should run away with the Oscar in both categories as what they were able to accomplish added yet another level to the storytelling. They were able to show the atrocities of war without ever really zeroing in on a specific item or a singular happening. Instead, as you embark on this journey with Blake and Schofield, you can’t help but notice the maimed bodies of fellow soldiers you’re crawling over in the mud or the innocent animals that are caught in the barb wire you’re trying to avoid. Every dark corner or shattered home could be the hiding place of a German soldier just waiting to take you out. The whole film is super intense and you cannot wait until you reach a safe place where you can finally catch your breath. But then it’s in that moment that you realize it’s just a matter of time before they send you off with Blake and Schofield on yet another dangerous mission even if you are successful in this one. And that’s the beauty of this film, it says and accomplishes so much without beating a preachy message into you.

I clearly loved this film as Sam Mendes once again proves that he’s one of the best directors in the game. I suggest that you go see this film, especially since we are a country that’s on the brink of war. I give this movie a rating of very FRESH!