1917 (2019) * *

Directed by:  Sam Mendes

Starring:  George MacKay, Dean Charles-Chapman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch

1917 is a massive technical achievement and a failure as a story with a tepid, cynical payoff.   Is there any payoff which would've been worthy of the painstaking efforts the movie takes to get there?    We follow nearly every step (NEARLY EVERY STEP) of the journey of two British soldiers sent on something tantamount to a suicide mission during World War I.    There isn't much buildup before thrusting the two young men (MacKay and Chapman) headlong into a time-sensitive mission which will take them behind enemy lines in order to deliver a message to British troops about to walk into a German sneak attack.

In case you were wondering why the British general (Firth) would send two non-descript members of the rank and file to deliver such an important message which would save 1,600 British soldiers' lives, it seems the Germans knocked out all telegraph and telephone communication.   Ok, we will grant this so the story can commence.   But, then the camera follows the two men as they maneuver their way through the long, winding trench which stations exhausted and hungry soldiers.   I found myself hoping this wouldn't be 1917's visual style, because it draws too much attention to itself and not enough to the plot or the men.

My hopes were dashed, and 1917 became distracting to watch.   I couldn't embrace it because I realized I was watching an exercise in cinematography and cuts.   1917 attempts to appear as one long, unedited cut, and kudos to editor Lee Smith for allowing this to appear to be the case, but who even cares?    Cinematography, editing, sound, and visuals are supposed to be part of the overall cinematic effect which complements the story.    The story should remain at the forefront.  

Alas, we have a story which is secondary to the production values.   The actors, unfamiliar to me, do their best to make us care about them, but by then they've nearly been killed by a downed German airplane.    Director Mendes has approached war in 2005's Jarhead, which was not as overly stylized as 1917 while presenting a story rich in human nature.    1917 is stylistic excess at the expense of a story which collapses under the weight of the marvelous production surrounding it.