1917 - A Movie Review

Bravery. Bravery is courage. Bravery is doing something that scares you, but you do it anyway. We are all brave.

1917 takes place amidst the battles of World War 1. Two young British soldiers are assigned a mission to deliver an important letter. Heading into the dangerous enemy territory, the two men stop at nothing as they’re faced with peril, challenging their bravery.

The instant that the film ended I sat staring mesmerized at the screen, uttering ‘wow.’ 1917 is a powerful visceral film of a harrowing story about bravery. The acting, story, and cinematography are outstanding. If someone were to ask me a film that best describes bravery, hands down, I would say 1917.

Dean-Charles Chapman (Lance Corporal Blake) and George McKay (Lance Corporal Schofield) were outstanding as the two soldiers. War is never an easy time. There is no time to make friends. However, Blake and Schofield’s bond is important as they have to stick together, watching one another’s back as they still try to obtain light of the situation, making jokes.

I wanted to stand up and applaud McKay for his incredible bravery in one of the best scenes I could ever witness. Even when all hope was deemed helpless, Schofield never gave up ignoring exhaustion, agony, and grief. In my opinion, I think that McKay should have have been nominated at this year’s Oscars for his strong leadership, dedication, and courage.

No matter how small one’s role in 1917 was they made a huge impact. In scenes where audiences are following through decimated pathways of the battle trenches, soldiers are seen taking cover, caring to a wound, praying, or just preparing themselves for the terror that could happen at any moment. That scene was very powerful and brought out a genuine sense of how the war affected everyone.

Expect appearances by Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Richard Madden. Everyone involved, and I mean everyone, not just those who had a brief appearance, did a magnificent job.

The way filmmakers shot 1917 was very impressive. In a rare moment of cinema, the whole film takes place in one long continuous shot to get the feel of this genuine mission. I actually felt as if I were following along. The cinematography is beautiful while at the same time makes you experience horrifying images that you don’t want to see, but unfortunately, you have to because this is what people in the war witnessed day after day.

1917 does not shy away from the depiction of a gruesome war. I felt my heart pounding the entire time because you never know what will happen next. Just feeling the stress and fear plunging off the screen makes you deflate as soon as the movie ends. I enjoyed every moment of this film.

I will be upfront and say that 1917 is a tough movie to watch, yet it is so worth it to watch a truly powerful film about bravery. Sam Mendes deserves the nomination for Best Director at this year’s Oscars for a monumental story that brought out strong themes and an outstanding finale that I could ever witness on the big screen.

Bravery. Bravery is tough. Bravery is anything. We can never back down from any situation until we try. Just seeing this film forever changes you making one respect the lives who made sacrifices to save the world.

I greatly recommend this film to all audiences. Just be aware that the story is overwhelming accurately depicting gruesome scenes of war and constant anxiety perpetuating every scene. 1917 is phenomenal and I wish it all the best at this year’s Oscars.