Aeroplane September 2017

AEROPLANE SEPTEMBER 2017 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com 31

well — this is not propaganda, after

all — and some characters respond

to the pressure better than others.

The advantage of the intimate,

privileged position in which Nolan

places the audience is that it’s all too

understandable when protagonists

let the situation get the better of

them, and we’re right there to feel

the consequences too. There’s no

shying away from the psychological

onslaught. It’s not enough to see the

intensity, terror, joy and shame on

screen. Nolan wants us to feel it, even

to live it. Unrelentingly, he succeeds.

If there is a complaint it is that

the scale of the canvas, significant

as it is, doesn’t quite match reality.

Nolan’s obsession with avoiding CGI

is admirable, but the corollary is that

we never quite feel the sheer mass of

men and barely-organised chaos on

the beach (the Dunkirk scenes of Joe

Wright’s Atonement capture this side

better), the swarms of aircraft and,

apart from a few aerial shots near the

end, the sea crowded with ships and

boats. This feels a little like a missed

opportunity, but in view of the power

of the narrative it can mostly be

forgiven.

There will naturally be some

questions raised about historical

accuracy, mostly focussing on what is

left out rather than what is included.

This is a largely British film, largely

depicting the British experience,

and some may feel the narrative

diminishes the role of the French, for

example. It should be pointed out,

though, that the French army is far

from written out of the story. While

the French involvement is pushed

to the margins for the majority of

the running time, and occasional

references may be seen as less than

complimentary, at the beginning of

the film it is the French army we see

holding the perimeter under sustained

German attack, while the fact that the

French mostly have to wait until the

British have been evacuated before

they get their turn is made clear.

The Germans themselves are a

faceless force, represented mainly by

the words on a leaflet (“We surround

you!”), howling aeroplanes and

munitions appearing out of nowhere.

There is no Tora! Tora! Tora!-style

attempt to show everything from all

sides, but Dunkirk being substantially

a film about the creation of a British

legend, this will come as no surprise.

It’s almost unavoidable that the role of

the ‘little ships’ and the small number

of civilian volunteers is played up

perhaps more than their historical

contribution compared with the Royal

Navy, say. To the film’s credit, the

fact that most of the civilian vessels

were crewed by Royal Navy sailors

is touched upon. But it would be

churlish to say the part of the ‘little

ships’ is overdone. If it hadn’t been for

the fleet of unarmoured and unarmed

small boats, far fewer troops would

have made it off the beach to transfer

to the larger ships offshore, and many

fewer would have escaped captivity or

death. The legend of the ‘little ships’

is partly what separates the story of

Dunkirk from other snatched-from-

the-jaws-of-defeat evacuations such as

Gallipoli and Arnhem.

Despite the fact that the majority

of viewers will know how the story

ends, the suspense continues to ramp

up to barely tolerable levels by the

climax. Some of the characters will

make it home, others will not, and

which of them fall into each category

will keep the audience guessing

for the majority of the film. Some,

particularly those on the beach, are

rarely out of mortal danger. Even

then, already knowing that the

evacuation succeeds does not detract

from the drama.

And despite the sprawling nature

of the action, Dunkirk feels taut and

economic, the pace relentless. It is,

after all, only an hour and 46 minutes

in length, surprisingly short for such

an epic subject. There’s no spare

space to lose focus — the inescapable

countdown keeps everything moving

forward inexorably.

For all the spectacular action,

and there is no shortage of heart-

in-the-mouth moments, the main

performances — Whitehead, Rylance,

Branagh, Hardy — are notable by

their understatement. There is no

scenery-chewing, no Saint Crispin’s

Day speeches. Churchill’s “We shall

fight them on the beaches” speech

is almost mumbled by a soldier

reading from a newspaper. Hardy,

required to perform in the confines

of a Spitfire’s cockpit, frequently

with his oxygen mask obscuring

his face, is so convincing it’s easy

to imagine his character Farrier

growing up fast through the Battle

of France, gaining experience, guile

and toughness, leading to the assured

figure we meet on screen — a ‘Sailor’

Malan or an Al Deere. Rylance can

say more in a look or a phrase than

most actors could in a soliloquy, his

story and motivation beautifully and

economically fleshed out as the yacht

crosses the Channel, encountering

threats from the enemy and closer

to home. Fionn Whitehead’s mute

shock at the horrors around him, his

occasional flashes of overwhelming

terror and stoic courage, draw us right

in with him.

Dunkirk is by turns spectacular,

unsettling, heartwarming, shocking,

terrifying, absurd and emotional, the

hyper-real occasionally swinging into

dream-like surrealism. But it is the

small, human moments that stay

with you and continue to work

even as the spectacle fades.

Dunkirk, certificate 12A, is in

cinemas now.

NEXT MONTH...

The October Aeroplane will continue our coverage

of the Dunkirk movie, with behind-the-scenes

insights into the film’s impressive aviation aspects.

Don’t miss it.

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