RACING across a WWI battlefield, Sam Mendes’ 1917 aims to bring you along a high-stakes and nerve-racking wartime mission. Mendes employs a one-shot effect for the entire film; successfully ratcheting up the suspense in several key sequences. While technically marvelous throughout, a majority of the film fails to properly lend itself to the approach, effectively neutering the one-shot’s end result. The opening frenetic energy of 1917 quickly subsides, only to find itself replaced by an ultimately dull sightseeing tour of WWI. When the film does sparingly decide to ratchet up the tension, it only reminds you of what could have been.
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1917 follows two British soldiers, Lance Corporal Schofield (played by George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Blake (played by Dean-Charles Chapman), as they attempt to deliver a vital message in hopes of saving Blake’s brother and 1,600 other lives. They must trek through hostile enemy territory while racing against the clock to prevent the complete and utter slaughter of their comrades, who are walking straight into a trap.
The narrative naturally lends itself to a certain level of anxiety, and by extension, to the one-shot effect. A good one-shot allows the viewer to put themselves in the situation onscreen and feel apart of the action. For 1917’s high-intensity sequences, this approach works flawlessly. The one-shot amplifies the stress of the scenes and creates some of the most engaging battle segments of recent memory. Unfortunately, maybe only three scenes throughout the film achieve this peak result, with most of the others taking a more thoughtful approach. The quieter scenes are not bad by any means, but you cannot help but notice how unnecessary the one-shot is in those instances. When 1917 slows down to tell a more personal story, the tremendous filmmaking and editing efforts fail to contribute to the film.
Not only does the one-shot fail to contribute at times, it also distracts and pulls you out of the movie. Several of the “hidden” cuts are so painfully obvious with how oddly the camera moves and pans that it distracts you from the weight of the scene you just watched.
But again, at its peak 1917 works immaculately. One scene has you trailing a corporal through a bombed out city at night, with intermittent flares lighting the way. This stands out as 1917’s best sequence, with every element of the film coming together perfectly to form an intense and beautiful triumph. If only the film could have had more of this to offer.
1917 fails to harness its much touted one-shot effect when it takes time to breathe, and in doing so often distracts from its more emotional moments with clunky and distracting camera movements. But that is the extent of the issues with the film; that it sometimes fails to live up to the expectations set by its own efforts. Although a tremendously frustrating work at times, 1917 still stands out as a film everyone should see. Its highs are so incredibly high that they mostly make up for the fact they are so few and far between.
