Taken into the heart of war
“Directed by Christopher Nolan” – four words that ensure I’m grabbing my popcorn and planting my backside in a cinema seat.
Not many helmers lure in punters the way a mega star like Tom Cruise does, but Londoner Nolan has earned that status via a flawless back catalogue that includes changing the comic book movie forever with his sublime Batman trilogy and tying your brain in knots with thought-provoking stunners Memento, Inception and Interstellar.
For his tenth big screen outing, Nolan turns his hand to the war movie with the real-life account of allied soldiers being surrounded by the German army during a fierce World War II battle in 1940.
Like his previous four flicks, the auteur films proceedings using Imax cameras and Dunkirk is best viewed on as big as screen as possible as Nolan takes you right into the heart of war in a relentless attack on the senses.
But not in an overlong fashion; indeed, surprisingly lasting only an hour and 46 minutes, Dunkirk is Nolan’s second shortest movie yet, with only his 1998 debut Following clocking in at a lesser running time.
Nolan also penned the story and cleverly follows three different timelines that showcase the conflict from the air, land and sea.
It’s a process that draws you in to the fate of each of the main players involved – and most of the supporting cast – and maintains Nolan’s ability to surprise and turn even the most simple of tales into a nonlinear, brain-teasing thrill ride.
There’s no weak link in the sizeable cast, which includes frequent Nolan collaborators Tom Hardy (Farrier) and Cillian Murphy (Shivering Soldier) and another impressive, underplayed showing from Bridge of Spies’ Mark Rylance (Mr Dawson).
Big screen newcomer Fionn Whitehead (Tommy) and Dubliner Barry Keoghan (George) stand out among the less experienced members of the ensemble, perfectly exuding the haunted combination of fear and determination of young soldiers at war.
And ex-One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles (Alex) proves to be much more than just stunt casting designed to lure in teenybopper fans with a fine movie debut that suggests he may just have a future with this acting lark.
Nolan’s long-term go-to-composer Hans Zimmer delivers another searing score and Nolan’s camerawork goes from claustrophobic – on Dawson’s boat – to the expansive landscapes of the astonishingly realistic Spitfire-led arial assaults and immersive beach evacuations.
The director takes no short-cuts when enveloping us in the full emotional impact of war and while riveting and mesmeric, it does leave you feeling that, like the cast, you’ve taken a bit of a battering.
But that is Christopher Nolan for you; a multiskilled craftsman who gifts us with true event cinema like very few others can.