REVIEWS

A beautifully shot if sometimes meandering retelling of the Sutton Hoo discovery

Certificate: 12 Director: Simon Stone Cast: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James Released: Out now

Based on the book of the same name, The Dig is a retelling of the events around the discovery of the Sutton Hoo archaeological site, one of the most extraordinary finds in Europe. With excavation beginning in 1939, what started as a buried ship revealed itself to be a richly adorned burial chamber with some of the most incredible Anglo-Saxon treasures found to this day.

Widowed estate owner Edith Pretty (Mulligan) hires the much sought-after and self-taught archaeologist (or ‘digger’ as he prefers to be called) Basil Brown (Feinnes) to excavate some burial mounds on her land in Suffolk. What Brown finds sends ripples through the archaeological community, starting a mild-mannered war between the academics who want control of the site and its treasures and Pretty who wants oversight and Brown to remain in charge.

While there’s a great deal more happening in this story, as we’ll