Movie Reviews: The Dig

Netflix's latest cinematic triumph The Dig combines all the things that I like to see on my screen: history,  archeology, and all things Anglo Saxon or Viking. So, as you can probably imagine, when I saw this film pop up on my Netflix account, I knew immediately that I had to watch it. 

The Sutton Hoo site has long been a source of fascination for me. I learned about it for the first time in an English literature class in college, and it has been connected in my mind with the fantastical tales of Beowulf and the doleful poem "Wulf and Eadwacer" ever since. In case you don't know,  Sutton Hoo is an archeological site in Britain that includes several Anglo-Saxon burial sites. In 1938, as World War II loomed on the horizon, one of the burial mounds was excavated, and the remains of a ship burial were discovered. Archeologists discovered the impression of a ship, the remains of a helmet and shield, as well as pieces of jewelry, bowls, and spoons. 

The Dig tells the story of the first formal excavation of Sutton Hoo. It follows Edith Pretty, the landowner, and her son Robert as well as Basil Brown, the excavator that she hired to explore the site. The movie also covers their personal lives, touching on death, sickness, and loss. The overarching theme of the film is legacy and the thread that binds humans to their past and to history.  

I want to start off by saying that this movie was a WORK OF ART. It so so beautiful, so well-executed, and so well-acted that I teared up at certain parts. Everyone in this movie clearly gave it their all, and it shows. 

That being said, this movie was so BRITISH. I mean, so very inescapably British. 

Don't get me a wrong, that's not a bad thing. It's just that, as an American, I get the feeling that I'm missing a thing or two.  There were so many moments in this movie that caused me to be like "why didn't these characters just talk about this" or "what does that expression mean?" For example, when Basil burst into the house to talk to Mrs. Pretty, I couldn't understand why she didn't just say "I'm feeling under the weather at the moment, can we please discuss this later?" Instead, there's all this secrecy and drama and suppressed feelings. Just communicate openly and tell people what's going on; it's not that hard. But, maybe those are my American sensibilities talking. 

Anyway, the American in my heart just wants everyone to be very upfront and straight forward about everything. All of these significant glances and lingering shots of strange facial expressions don't compute! 

However, I don't think that impacts the quality of the movie. It was still fantastic, it just wasn't the movie I expected it to be, and that's not a bad thing. It gave me an experience I didn't expect! 

So, if you like archeology and good acting, I highly recommend this film. 

Rating: 9/10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peaky Blinders: Season 2 Episode 5 Review

STOP EVERYTHING! Grace is back! Oh my goodness, I am over the MOON that Grace and Tommy are an item once again. And, before you tell me that this episode could have been a one night stand, let me tell you that I have seen enough TV shows to know that they did not reintroduce her character just for that. GRACE! I'm so excited. No doubt, their relationship is going to be extremely messy and complicated (because of May and her husband, etc. etc.), but I don't care. First of all, I have to comment on the fact that Tommy has some CONFIDENCE, or, maybe he just knows Grace really well. Like, his whole opening gambit with Grace to skip talking about the past was a bold move, considering she could have walked out at any moment. But, of course, he really just wants to take her out to meet movie stars. It's an interesting reunion, but also kind of sweet? I don't know. I did, however, LOVE that Tommy called Campbell to tell him that he was about to sleep with Grace. Was
Read more

Peaky Blinders: Season 4 Episode 5 Review

Where to begin?! I feel like a ton of stuff happened in this episode. I mean, a ton of stuff happens in every episode, but this one was really jam packed. Even so, I still feel like this episode was mostly set up. Everything is building up to the season four finale, which must be really incredible because I can't imagine how they're going to resolve all these plots in just one hour! First of all, I cannot tell you how glad I am that Polly didn't betray Tommy. That's a huge weight off my mind. That does not, however, negate the fact that Michael kind of betrayed Tommy, but I imagine that will be addressed later. Right now, I want to focus on how cool Tommy looked with that machine gun. That's an OG move for sure. On the other hand, I'm beginning to think that Luca is not a very good gangster. Like, he's had a million chances to kill Tommy at this point. Why is he still alive? How have they botched all of these assassination attempts so badly?? Like, the m
Read more

Game of Thrones Review: Season 6 Episode 2

Well, I think we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief now that we know that Kit Harrington (aka Jon Snow) will be gracing our screen with his flowing locks of hair and brooding expressions for many episodes to come. In all seriousness, even though I suspected that Jon would be resurrected, I wasn't completely sure because it is, after all, Game of Thrones . (I didn't want to jinx it though, so I did wear my "The North Remembers" t-shirt and paint my nails black in honor of the Night's Watch ( you can follow my nail polish escapades at my beauty blog ).) Favorite Moments: I Prefer Being an Only Child: Hands down, no questions asked, Ramsay Snow/Bolton is the best villain to grace the small screen. Like, I know he murdered his father and fed two people -- including a baby -- to dogs in this episode, but I'm almost thinking "well done -- I thought you couldn't go further, but somehow you did!" I'm almost impressed with his villainy. F
Read more