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Race for life
As we went to press, early reviews for director Sam Mendes’ First World War epic 1917 were rolling in. The tone was overwhelmingly positive, with the film tipped to rival Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman for the best picture Oscar.
As to why, it’s partly because of the audacious way 1917 plays out as one continuous shot, under the guidance of director of photography Roger Deakins (a 14-time Oscar nominee and one-time winner). This is a war film that thrusts audiences fully into the action.
It also has much to do with the extraordinary story, which was partly inspired by the wartime experiences of Mendes’ own grandfather, a race-against-time narrative that follows two soldiers who have eight hours to run through German territory and deliver a message that will prevent 1,600 men from walking into an ambush.
Up-and-coming actors George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman star, respectively,
