Arguably more so than any other living filmmaker, Christopher Nolan has a cinematic style you would recognise even if his famous name had been left out of the credits altogether.
From Memento to Inception, The Dark Knight to Interstellar, Nolan, 49, brings intense psychological portrayals to the mainstream multiplex, imbued with philosophical dilemmas and big human questions.
Having consistently created beautiful and thought provoking films throughout his career, you could give a compelling case for any one of them to be his ‘best film’. But perhaps his finest achievement to date would be Dunkirk (2017), one of the rawest, most poignant war dramas of all time.
Dunkirk was Nolan’s very first venture into writing and directing a story rooted in historical events, and yet he has managed to create something which will continue to influence military dramas for years to come.
Like Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola before him, Nolan was able to connect modern, civilian viewers to the realities of existing minute to minute on the battlefield; using his uniquely poetic eye to build almost unbearable tension.
The narrative follows the evacuation of allied soldiers from the British Empire and France, who had been cut off and surrounded by the German Army. The action takes place on the beaches of Dunkirk, from May 26 to June 4, 1940.
The bitterly cold colour palette combined with a clever use of diverging perspectives – land, sea and air – makes for an immersive and often utterly terrifying visual experience. And if you didn’t get the chance to catch it at the cinema, you now have the perfect excuse.
Dunkirk has now landed on Netflix, and is thoroughly deserving of a place of your must-watch list, even if you’ve already caught it at the pictures and just want to find new aspects to appreciate and learn from.
With a reviewers score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics consensus is as follows:
Dunkirk serves up emotionally satisfying spectacle, delivered by a writer-director in full command of his craft and brought to life by a gifted ensemble cast that honours the fact-based story.
Lili Loufbourow of The Week described Dunkirk as ‘Dunkirk is closer to an art film than a typical war film, and it’s certainly the strangest, most ambitious summer blockbuster you’re likely to see’, while Christopher Orr from The Atlantic wrote, ‘It is hard to imagine a better tribute to this victory of survival than Nolan’s spare, stunning, extraordinarily ambitious film.’
Dunkirk won three Oscars at at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, taking home the awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Film Editing.
The ensemble cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Tom Hardy.
You can stream Dunkirk on Netflix now.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.