‘The Dig’ tells true tale of search for treasure
Initially, the main subject of “The Dig” — adapted from John Preston’s 2007 novel of the same name, which was based on real events — is dirt, and what may lie beneath it. But for most of its duration, its centers of attention switch to living, breathing human beings: the people who own the land the dirt is on, the ones who burrow under it, and those who lay claim to what might be hidden below. Before the film is over, plenty of attention has also been given to some people who have been gone, for many centuries.
Though this appears to be a tale of archeology and treasure and museums that are feuding over the possibility of valuable spoils beneath a grouping of mysterious mounds in Suffolk, England, it’s the people who are far more interesting.
Set in 1939, the film opens with widow and single mother Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) hiring local freelance archeologist Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to figure out what those heaping mounds at her estate, Sutton Hoo, are all about.
When she and her husband bought the place years ago, they’d meant to do just that. But he died, she was consumed with grief, and only now is she getting around to it.
It’s a small, quiet film, beautiful to watch due to its expansive, rural surroundings, appealing to listen to for its plainspoken, heartfelt dialogue, wonderful to spend some time with because every actor completely embodies his or her character, convincingly bringing them to life.
Mulligan presents Edith as a tired, worrisome person. Her doctor tells her she’s on her way to an ulcer.
She tells everyone around her, including her young son Robert, that she has heartburn. But her health problems are much bigger, and part of her worrying has to do with what will happen to Robert if she’s not around.
This is a film in which a lot is going on but not much happens. Words take precedence over action. And war is definitely in the air.
It’s got the feeling and sensibility of the sort of fare seen on “Masterpiece,” but — taking nothing away from “Masterpiece” — is a tad higher in quality and production value.
“The Dig” is on Netflix.