One Shot One Thrill

Sam Mendes created an entire movie as one shot. It’s dramatic and focused, suspenseful and intense. By telling one story over the course of a full day, back stories and side narratives get eliminated. We follow the characters from start to finish with nothing in between.1917 is less about the war as it is set during the war. Very few scenes contain 'explainers' where generals discuss troop movements or point to maps and tell the audience where divisions are located. It’s a break from most war movies that seek to explore the historic costs of war, and the underlying political fault lines. 1917 wants to immerse you in the war, for a full day.

We are shown the mission at the beginning for the sake of plot; a British regiment deep behind German lines is facing imminent slaughter. Two soldiers are chosen to deliver a message to halt an attack before it’s too late. Other than that, most details about setting and maneuver are stripped away. We see and feel the way the soldiers do, a little lost and overwhelmed. This is a simple movie exploring the challenges of mission and the weight of responsibility. It doesn’t rehash political ideas about the war or the danger of nationalism. In this way the movie says less about World War I, or any war, than it does about determination, sacrifice and brotherhood--everything critical for carrying out mission in impossible situations. 

I’m not sure how much Sam Mendes (the director) believes this is a story about individual growth, but those characteristics are present. We see the reluctance to take the mission, the unlikely chance for success and the challenges that threaten to derail the whole thing.

“There goes First Principles, trying to stuff conservative ideals into movies again”.     

I don’t know a lot about camera work but this film is beautifully shot. We follow the soldiers as they traipse through empty trenches and open fields. We run with them to avoid bombs that light up the sky. The camera gets uncomfortably close as they kill and get shot at; it floats down the rapids after a jump into the river to avoid German gunfire. We feel as exhausted and nervous as the soldiers. The message the soldier carries is time sensitive, adding to our discomfort. We see dead bodies and rats scurrying through the muddy trenches and climbing over each other.

If Saving Private Ryan tried to answer the question “What is a life worth?” 1917 tries to answer the question “How does responsibility change a person?” In particular, responsibility that’s put-on, demanded of, critical for others. From a movie point of view, war is as good a theater to explore these questions as anything. It’s unrelenting, mistakes are deadly and there is no time for regret. We keep moving through the mess, determined. Lives depend on it after all.

I read an interview with the director, Sam Medes, who talked about shooting the opening scene from Spectre (James Bond film) in one shot. Because that sequence is one shot and completely memorable, he wondered what an entire movie shot this way might look like. 1917 is the result and the shots really pull you in. The word he kept using was “immersive”. He wanted an immersive feel for the audience.

It’s a granular and emotional story with just the scantest reminders that this takes place during World War I. 1917 is interested in the human part of mission and the mettle required to focus and finish.1917 shows how difficult situations create extraordinary courage.

This will win an Oscar. It has to.