Nolan has outdone himself once again!
Dunkirk is directed by Christopher Nolan, and stars Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, and Harry Styles.
Christopher Nolan is best known for his complex, non-linear way of storytelling, not to mention breathtaking visuals, and Dunkirk is no exception. Nolan once again has crafted a masterpiece, and this could be one of his most unique work yet. I say unique because this movie trusts its audience, with its structure, and the decision to focus on the event itself, not the characters.
The movie never slows down one bit. Right from the get-go we are brought into the event. Every scene is full of tension, because you simply don’t know what will happen, not to mention the sound design here is a masterwork, and one small noise of a fighter can bring so much intensity into a scene, you could feel each and every bullet whizzing through the air. It also helps that Hans Zimmer crafted such a haunting score, that elevated the stakes so much more.
After the movie finishes setting up all of its fronts which is of course; land, sea, and air. The movie takes a very unexpected turn, a turn that transcended this from a visually breathtaking piece of cinema, into a smart, emotionally driven, and sophisticated piece of storytelling. Like what Nolan did with Memento, creating a film with a jumbled structure has a risk of confusing the audience. But somehow he just finds a way to make it all work, and in ways it enhances the experience significantly.
I’m not going rave how good Mark Rylance is, or how wonderful Tom Hardy was, or even how (surprisingly) good Harry Styles was. Because that’s not the point of the film, instead of a tale about these characters, it’s a tale about the event itself, it isn’t a linear story with a beaten path to follow with Dunkirk, and that’s great!
However, sometimes i do feel the lack of blood in Dunkirk (or in any of Nolan’s recent films) starts to feel annoying. Feels more like Nolan being stubborn, than it is a PG 13 restriction. I can also imagine most audiences will become frustrated with the (intentionally) hollow characters.
The nitpick above however didn’t detract my experience with Dunkirk, this is definitely one of Christopher Nolan‘s best work. It isn’t a linear experience where you see the allies vs axis. It’s a race against time, full of tension, and simply surviving is victory. It’s thrilling, ferocious, and masterful.
Dunkirk is now playing
flixposition 