By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Director
Sam Mendes? riveting World War I drama,
?1917? should get a big boost at the box office when it expands in wide release this weekend and after winning Golden Globe Awards for ?Best Picture,? ?Best Director? and ?Best Score? (Thomas Newman).
With the
Critics? Choice Awards airing Jan. 12 on the CW Network and the
92nd Academy Award nominations announced
Jan. 13, it?s very likely more accolades for ?1917? will follow.
Mendes? heroic tale, which he co-wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (TV?s ?Penny Dreadful?), is based on stories Mendes? grandfather told him during his stint as a messenger in the British military.
?1917? centers around British soldiers Lance corporals Will Schofield (George MacKay, ?Nuclear?) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman, ?The King? and TV?s ?Into the Badlands?). Their superior General Erinmore (Colin Firth, ?Mary Poppins Returns?) gives them a daunting task. They must hand deliver a note across enemy territory in Northern France to Col. Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch, ?Avengers: Endgame?), who is commander of the Second Battalion. If they?re unsuccessful, nearly 1,600 men will be trapped and die.
The urgency of Cols. Schofield and Blake?s assignment plays out in spectacular fashion as they must avoid booby traps, tons of rotted corpses and filthy rats.
The attention to detail and cinematography from Roger Deakins (?Blade Runner 2049? and ?Skyfall?) is breathtaking. In addition, the vivid action sequences are masterfully rendered and juxtaposed alongside poignant, quieter and heartwarming moments like when Col. Schofield meets a woman with an orphan baby in a war ravished village and offers her some milk he retrieved from a farm.
?1917? is an ambitious, daring and emotional war movie that benefits greatly from Thomas Newman?s haunting score. It leaves a lasting impression.
Editor's Note: On Jan. 10 I'll be off the air for my movie segment on The Kitty O'Neal Show (KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM) and headed to Los Angeles for the 25th Annual Critics' Choice Awards which air Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) on the CW Network. Be sure to tune in as Eddie Murphy will be honored with "The Lifetime Achievement Award" and "The Irishman" and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" will battle for "Best Picture." It's going to be a great show!
Take A Peek At This Trailer For
"1917"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
