Writer and director Sam Mendes has taken a story about one of his relatives, an heroic and decisive moment in the first world war, to make into an epic historical drama on film. There are several shortcomings with this film, not least that perhaps the material was too personal for Mendes and therefore he wasn't able to see it with fresh and unprejudiced eyes.
The story concerns a direct order given to two young Lance Corporals who are to traverse across a hefty section of No-Man's Land into occupied territory (albeit temporarily abandoned) to deliver a message to the allies fighting on another front to call off the morning's planned attack, as they have superior and more up-to-date intelligence indicating such an attack would be folly and amount to total loss of allies. It is therefore vital that the letter is delivered and in good time. That however, is the sum total of the plot, and of course, since we know that the letter will be delivered (it is historically accurate on that front), then there is no suspense or surprises in the narrative either. In fact the narrative drive of this film is virtually at a stand-still for the most part.
The film tells us nothing new either. We are already aware of the conditions in Northern France during WW1, and if you haven't see War Horse, or watched anything on Yesterday TV channel, then you would still not find any of the images portrayed on the film frightful or surprising. The film doesn't shy away from the gritty realism of the war, and the attention to detail in the sets is impressive. But it's nothing new.
Even the acting performances from protagonists Dean-Charles Chapman and George Mackay weren't sufficiently enagaging enough to sustain one's interest. I found my mind wandering and my eyes distracted throughout the film. I was getting bored and fidgety. The performances were good, but did not enthrall or captivate, and failed completely to break down that invisible fourth wall / screen barrier in the way that some films can and do.
The background music was at times too loud and pulling my emotional responses - something I am not a fan of. I think my emotional responses should be mine to be pulled the way I react and respond to the story and the acting, rather than rely on being manipulated by emotive music. A veritable fault of many a Hollywood movie!
All told I was greatly underwhelmed by this film. Despite being recommended to watch it, I can only say that I found it long-winded, slow-moving, boring, unimaginative, with little or no change to the dynamics of the film telling a story that we already knew the outcome of, with situations and settings of which we are already only too familiar.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 11/2/20
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