Review: "DUNKIRK"

Sofia Temmuz 12, 2021

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard and James D'Arcy

In Theaters: July 21, 2017 (Wide)

Runtime: 107 minutes

I could (and maybe I should) left this sentence for the end of my review, but: "Dunkirk is the best movie of 2017, so far"!

It has been three years since the release of Christopher Nolan's last movie - Interstellar (2014) - but it was worth the wait! In fact, it took three years for Nolan to bring us the best movie he has ever made. The story is set amid World War II, during the evacuation of the Allied soldiers from Dunkirk, France (1940), told by three different perspectives: young private Tommy (The Mole), Mr. Dawson (The Sea) and a RAF pilot named Farrier (The Air), played by Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy, respectively.

Whitehead proves to be a cinematic revelation and a very promising young actor, not only because of his beautifully subtle performance but also because of being able to be such a commanding presence on-screen without a showy character, being able to stand-out from the amazing ensemble cast. Mark Rylance was given the most inspiring and good-hearted character in the whole movie and his performance is just perfect. Tom Hardy has his face hidden once again (remember The Dark Knight Rises and Mad Max: Fury Road?), but his expressive eyes, breathing and the simple way he speaks turn a difficult role into a fine leading performance. The rest of the cast does fine, but let me highlight Cillian Murphy who portrays an unpredictable traumatized soldier - a dynamite performance!

The story and the acting are strong, but what really elevates Dunkirk to the masterpiece category is its director's craft! This movie is an amazing cinematic journey: all works perfectly so you can almost live and breed inside the movie. The original score isn't Hans Zimmer's most beautiful work but it works fine its purpose: building momentum for the release of human emotions. The sound work is stunning and somehow Nolan found a way to bring visual beauty to a war scenario: from corpses on the beach to the landscapes seen from RAF pilot's eyes.

Dunkirk stands as one of the most well-done and beautiful WWII movies. An ambitious extraordinary work. Christopher Nolan's best since Memento or Inception - Dunkirk is a masterpiece on the most immersive and epic scale!

RATING: 5 / 5

Academy Award playing categories: