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Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) hesitate at the doorway to the hell of scorched earth of "1917."
SANDRA OLMSTED’S CINEMATIC SKINNY: Sam Mendes’ 1917
A History Lesson
by Sandra Olmsted
Set during the First World War, director Sam Mendes’ 1917 chronicles the friendship of Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), two young British soldiers. From Blake and Schofield’s casual conversation about dead friends and chicken dinners while on leave to the challenges of crossing no-man’s-land in daylight, Mendes draws from war stories told by his grandfather Alfred, who fought in the trenches of WWI, and brings the devastated world and emotions of those trenches and battlefields to life.
Summoned by Erinore (Colin Firth), the British commanding general, Blake and Schofield are assigned an important but impossible mission which tests their friendship and courage. They are from very different backgrounds; Blake is the common man, and Schofield has a more privileged background. Because Blake’s older brother is among the 1600 men who will be ordered to charge into a German trap, Blake’s drive to get the message through seems greater than Schofield’s caution; however, both impulses will be needed if the message is to be delivered. The likelihood that a message hand-delivered by two Lance Corporals will persuade Col. Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch), commander of the 2nd battalion, who is set on attacking because he thinks he knows better than those at HQ, seems a bit contrived although the older officers were not as skilled in modern warfare, reconnaissance, and intelligence interpretation during WWI.
With less than 24-hours to cross deadly miles, Blake and Schofield set off through enemy territory, which is oddly deserted although they are told that this German retreat is the ploy designed to lure Col. Mackenzie into attacking the German’s fall back position. Mackenzie’s order for his men to leave the relative safety of the trenches and charge the Germans’ trenches which will surely get many, if not all, of the 1600 Brits killed. Blake’s older brother will be among the first wave of troops to be dispatched in the morning, so Blake is ever conscious of the ticking clock.
The novelty of Mendes’ film is twofold. The promoted idea that the film is one shot rather than many, many shots and scenes edited together is a marvelous conceit and gimmick since the one-shot is a myth in the case of 1917.
Cuts in this carefully choreographed film are expertly concealed by Lee Smith’s editing, which has garnered multiple nominations and awards from awards-giving organizations some of which haven’t yet announced their winners. Sam Mendes also took home a Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Motion Picture – Drama. 1917 is also nominated for Academy Awards in 10 categories: Best Motion Picture of the Year, Sam Mendes for Best Director, Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns for Best Original Screenplay, Roger Deakins for Best Cinematography. Deakins’ garnered an EDA for Best Cinematography from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
The other novelty is that Mendes brings the tragedy of the doomed soldiers of WWI so realistically to the consciousness of today’s audience, who is probably much more familiar with the Greatest Generation’s acceptance and understanding of modern warfare. Mendes reveals how the advent of modern warfare during the First World War complicated the officers’ and soldiers’ understanding of how to fight effectively and to act heroically. In contrast to the Greatest Generation, those who fought in WWI are considered the doomed generation because the horrors of modern warfare contrasted so diametrically with the belief in the noble adventure that war was considered before horrors of trench warfare, massive aerial bombing, and mustard gas.
Can Blake and Schofield navigate the dangers and horrors of No Man’s Land, the booby traps left in the deserted German bunker, the scorched earth that the Germans left as they retreated, and a burning, bombed city? All these surreal backdrops complicate the urgent need to complete the mission and add to the emotional excitement and magnificence of Mendes’ 1917. A Universal Pictures release, which opened on the coasts before Christmas to be eligible for awards, 1917 opens January 10 in St. Louis. Not surprisingly, 1917 is rated R for violence, some disturbing images, and language; however, it also runs an exhilarating 119 minutes, making it well worth seeing.
