Dunkirk

I’ll have to see this again to solidify my opinion but I was actually somewhat let down by this movie which I was really excited for. As you can guess, my biggest gripe was my absolute lack of connection to any of the characters. And it didn’t help that many of them were written as pretty selfish. More details below in spoilers:

SPOILERS…

My favorite part of the film was probably the people on the boat since that is where the most character development was done in my opinion. They actually fleshed out the interactions between the first solider they save (the mentally shaken one) and the civilian sailors. And probably the most compassionate act of the movie (my Dad’s favorite moment) was when the solider asked if the boy was alright and the brother knew he was dead, and instead of lashing out, he chose to comfort the solider by saying that his brother was alright. A really beautiful moment that shows the humanity of others at it’s best.

The rest of the movie however was severely lacking in anything that pulled my heartstrings. This is not a rip on the execution or quality of filmmaking which was exemplary. Cinematography, sound design, and composition of shots were stellar. Visually speaking, I have absolutely no gripes with Dunkirk and think it is where this film excels the most. But I simply could not connect with any of the troops on land or Tom Hardy’s pilot. Especially the troops on Dunkirk. Harry Styles’ character was exceptionally annoying and selfish. And though his peers were not nearly as offensive, they still didn’t do a single heroic thing or struggle to make a decision that was not selfish. But one other thing I liked was the ending of the film. The montage with the voice over reading of the newspaper was a smart choice of how to end the film.