There hasn’t been a shortage of World War II movies, as a fan of history, trust me I’ve seen (and enjoyed) a lot of them however, I’ve never encountered the story of the Sutton Hoo excavation, which was discovered just before the break of World War II and one of the things I love about movies is getting to know stories I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by John Preston, the film, like its source material reimagines and dramatizes the events surrounding the excavation. Not many people know this about me but as a child I actually wanted to become an archeologist, so watching this film was a treat, since we have excavators and archeologists down on their knees and digging in the dirt and you know, not just running away from boulders.
The film stars Carrey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) as Edith Pretty, who owns the land on which the discovery is made, underneath giant mounds and Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man, No Time to Die) is Basil Brown, an excavator who is assigned to the site. Lily James also stars as a newly wed archeologist, who may not actually know who her new husband really is.
As I was watching the movie I thought that the lead actress looked so familiar I just couldn’t put my finger on it, then it dawned on me-its Carrey Mulligan! And I just recently saw ‘Promising Young Woman’ so I was beyond impressed to see Carrey Mulligan in such a different role. In her critically acclaimed role in ‘Promising Young Woman’ she is smart, conniving, dresses in so much color, a complete chameleon! But as Edith Pretty, she is silent, contemplative and stoic. I was absolutely impressed by her range.
As the excavation begins, it becomes evident that the group have stumbled upon a great and rare find. What could be under the mounds? Viking? Or something even older? However, the approaching war threatens their discovery. As more people join ‘the dig’ there is much drama that revolve among the characters. An impending war can make anybody nervous and anxious and reflect on their life choices and decisions and as if that wasn’t enough, Edith Pretty herself is going through a difficult time, making her reflect on her life, death and decay.
The film also explores the theme that we are all part together, from the first hand painting on a cave wall long ago, to where we are today, we are all, in a way connected and in this time of physical distance and disconnection that is a small comforting thought to have.
There were a couple of fresh technical aspects in editing that I appreciated in the movie, like how the audio and dialogue were played over the scenes, so its like the characters are out of their bodies and doing a narration of the scene instead of actually being in the scene. There is also a split second shot I there that seems to draw inspiration from TikTok videos. Let me know if you see it.
I always enjoy finding about unknown stories and ‘The Dig’ is a beautiful based on a true story movie, albeit a bit dramatic at times, just adds to the flair eh?