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THE DIG
Director: Simon Stone Cast: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn, Ben Chaplin, Ken Stott, Archie Barnes, Monica Dolan MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:52 Release Date: 1/19/21 (limited); 1/22/21 (wider); 1/29/21 (Netflix) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | January 21, 2021 Questions about the past and the future weigh heavily on the characters of The Dig, a dramatization of an unexpected and important archaeological find in England, just before the beginning of World War II. Matters of the past, of course, are obvious, since the immediate focus of these people is what's unearthed within a field in the county of Suffolk. From where and whom do these artifacts come? What does that history say about the past generations of people from this place or from some other? Such questions and their answers are less important to screenwriter Moira Buffini (adapting John Preston's historical novel) and director Simon Stone than the people making the discovery. By the end of the movie, we understand the historical import of the excavation, how it re-defined the understanding of a people and a region at a time when everyone assumed there was little or no civilization or culture, and the fate of the relics. That's all that really matters in regards to the actual find. Everything else in this story is about these characters. Those individual concerns are about the here and now of this story, as a woman—one Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan)—sees her hunch confirmed, as an overlooked and underestimated excavator—one Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes)—sees his lifelong dedication to his work pay off, and as a team of professionals and amateurs come together for one last look at history before they start living through it by way of another world war. As the dig progresses and conflict edges closer, the future becomes even more important than the present. What will this war mean, and what does fate have in store for those who will live through and fight in it? Will the excavator's work be recognized once a museum gets a hold of these relics? Does the woman who financed the dig have years or months left in her by the time everything is finished, and while her place in the history of this undertaking is secure, what security could there be for the young son she might leave an orphan? Stone's movie recognizes and reflects the characters' pre-occupation with time—of what was and what's to come. Moments here play out with disjointed editing and dialogue disconnected from the scenes on screen. The technique is clearly trying to evoke some sense of timelessness, as these conversations about one's place in the world and history have been going on as long as people have had a sense of both. The actual effect, though, feels a bit hollow, because the characters and conversations themselves never quite reach the degree of significance that the filmmakers believe they possess. The plot here, set in 1939, has Edith hiring Basil to excavate a mound or two in a field that she and her late husband purchased. Basil takes to it with some hired help and, after some time, discovers that the largest mound is covering the remnants of a ship. Representatives from a local museum, which had been underpaying and underappreciating Basil, are certain the ship is Viking, circa the 10th or 11th century. Basil is convinced they are hundreds of years older and of local origin: Anglo-Saxon from the Dark Ages. When Basil's theory is proven correct, the government deems the site one of national importance, and a minor battle over who's in charge of the dig and where the relics will be held emerges. These characters are a bit shallowly portrayed. Basil is a workaholic, going long stretches without seeing or even thinking of his wife (played by Monica Dolan), who is used to being ignored. Edith is a widow, who, we learn, waited 13 years to marry her husband, because she was caring for her sick father, only to be put in the position of tending to a dying husband, soon after the birth of their son Robert (Archie Barnes). Now, she is ill, and the doctors become increasingly skeptical that Edith will recover. About halfway through the story, another subplot suddenly and almost randomly emerges. It has to deal with Peggy (Lily James)—an archaeologist who's married to Stuart (Ben Chaplin), a fellow archaeologist who mostly has eyes for a male colleague—and her attraction to Edith's cousin Rory (Johnny Flynn), a photographer planning to join the RAF when the war begins. Undoubtedly, the movie's ethereal tone and the characters' thoughts about time lend this material a bit more weight than what actually occurs here, especially once the unexpected entrance of and focus upon Peggy's troubled love life shove Edith and Basil aside. Each of these stories possesses some inherent strength (If one looks up the real Peggy, who's the aunt of the source material's author, there's a particularly fascinating tale that follows the events here), but the filmmakers seem either hampered by the need to add some drama to this story or uncertain about those individual strengths. The result is a movie that ultimately feels as disjointed as Stone's approach. The Dig possesses some ambitious ideas, but they never come together in an emotionally or philosophically satisfactory way. Copyright © 2021 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for brief sensuality and partial nudity)
