DuNKIRK

Director Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” based on the true death-defying WWII evacuation of nearly 340,000 British and French soldiers under siege from the Germans from a small area on the French coast, is, without hyperbole, epic.  “Dunkirk” works for the audience with a most atypical ratio of ingredients: relatively nerve-racking, nerve-jangling, and claustrophobic non-stop action paired with microscopic character exposition. And, yet, somehow, Nolan pulls these seemingly be off-putting elements together to create what may be considered one of his career masterworks.

“Dunkirk” follows British soldier, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), who largely remains nameless through much of the film.  As the film opens, Tommy scrambles to survive through the streets of a French coastal town, as each of his troopmates is picked off by unseen German shooters, to finally make his way to the beach of Dunkirk, where over 300,000 soldiers are desperately waiting for rescue. 

Tommy soon comes across fellow soldier, Gibson (Aneurin Barnard), and without speaking, the two forge a friendship out of the desperate need for survival.  Unfortunately, the two soldiers find out that rescue for these hundreds of thousands trapped on the beach seems near-impossible.  The Dunkirk beach is far too shallow for destroyers to come directly to shore, and any British destroyers sent to the breakwater (mole) to evacuate the most injured are bombed by the Germans from above.  Nevertheless, the two boys attempt all manner of escape and endurance, repeatedly narrowly avoiding death’s overhanging grip.  When the boys finally make it to an escape vessel, they come across fellow Brit, Alex (the surprisingly good Harry Styles, formerly of boy band One Direction) who, too, is most persevering for survival at any cost. 

The film also explores a small British civilian pleasure yacht (“The Moonstone”), captained by Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance), who bravely attempts to be one of many civilian boats to ferry the trapped soldiers across the Channel and the ongoing air battle between the Royal Air Force (focusing on pilot Farrier, played by Tom Hardy) and the German Luftwaffe.

The brilliance of “Dunkirk” is not just its scope (although the scenes of 300,000+ soldiers’ lines along the French beach is jaw-droppingly impressive) but its nearly “you-are-there” approach.  Characters are primarily introduced through action with little emphasis on language, discussion, or character exposition.  We only know the soldiers are trapped, young, traumatized, and desperate; the rest of the motivation has to be superimposed onto them by the audience.  It’s almost as if Nolan draws the audience directly into the film, and we become a virtual fellow character in constant peril, making the torpedo blasts, bombings, drownings, and shootings far more realistic.  As such, this reviewer, often surprisingly found herself breathless while watching the film, as being drawn so close, emotionally, leaves little room for mental rest.

The repeated trials and tribulations of “Dunkirk” make it a film not soon forgotten, and many of of its scenes (though surprisingly relatively low in gore) may leave a feeling of hypervigilant, jittery angst.   Nolan does emphasize, though, that individual acts of courage and bravery lead to the biggest gains for all.  However, “Dunkirk” makes it clear that, in war, there is no romance and no clear happy ending. The only winners are those who survive. 

PG-13 “Dunkirk” is highly recommended viewing for teens and adults.