'Dunkirk': 5 Things You Need to Know | THR News - video Dailymotion

THR breaks down the cast, reviews and awards prognosis for one of summer's most hotly anticipated films.

Transcript

00:00Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated World War II epic is out. Before you go

00:12see it in theaters, here are five things you need to know about Dunkirk. First up,

00:16who, what, where, when. The Warner Brothers drama centers on the British military

00:20evacuation of the French city Dunkirk in 1940, one of the biggest battles during

00:25World War II. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, the film's ensemble

00:30cast includes Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, and One

00:35Direction's Harry Styles. In comparison to other war films, Dunkirk has very, very

00:41little dialogue and focuses on and spans a relatively short period of time. It

00:45places you so absolutely in the situation of conflict, you don't learn the details

00:51of characters' backstories or even their surnames. You just see how this group

00:55reacts in this situation. Make it a nail-biting encounter. Branagh told The

01:00Hollywood Reporter at the US premiere of the film, Nolan wanted it to be an

01:03experiential fight-or-flight test and it's unrelenting in its engagement and

01:08doesn't let the audience off the hook. You're invited in to experience it as

01:12they're experiencing it, as in with not enough time to think or process things.

01:17While the bigger names play pilots, ranking officers, and brave civilians, one

01:22fresh face plays a notable foot soldier, 20-year-old London actor Finn Whitehead,

01:26who makes his feature debut in Dunkirk. Jack Loden, Barry Cogan, James Darcy,

01:33Aniron Bernard, and Tom Glyn Carney are also among the film's younger cast, as well as

01:38Harry Styles in his first acting role. The Hollywood Reporter's critic, Todd McCarthy,

01:43called it an impressionist masterpiece, in which Nolan has gotten everything just

01:48right and highlights the film's cinematography, production designer, costume

01:52designer, and score. McCarthy writes, all of Nolan's films are intensely visual, but

01:58it's fair to say that Dunkirk is especially so, given the sparseness and

02:02strict functionality of the dialogue. This is not a war film of inspirational

02:07speeches, digressions about loved ones back home, or hopes for the future. No, it's all

02:12about the here and now and matters at hand under conditions that demand both endless

02:17waiting and split second responses. Other critics agree, ranking it as Nolan's best

02:22work to date and calling it awe-inspiring and alienating as it should be. Dunkirk

02:27currently has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Screening in both IMAX and 70mm film, Dunkirk

02:34is projected to make a domestic debut in the $35 million to $40 million range this weekend.

02:40Though war dramas have never been known for big box office openings, Nolan, the mastermind

02:45behind Inception and the blockbuster Dark Knight trilogy, is a powerful brand unto himself.

02:50Also, many believe the film will have exceptionally long legs, ones that might take Nolan to the

02:56Oscars for the very first time. So guys, now you know what you need to know about Dunkirk.

03:01Do you plan on seeing Nolan's latest masterpiece? Let me know in the comments. For The Hollywood

03:06Reporter News, I'm Paul Costabile. This episode of The Hollywood Reporter News is brought to

03:11you by American Airlines, Hollywood's favorite airline.