After reading rave reviews, I went to see "Dunkirk". What struck me immediately was the soundtrack. It's loud... as Dolby can be. Cover-your-ears loud. Dunno maybe it's more the sudden contrast than the intensity. But sometimes it's like a firecracker going off next to you.
Dolby is sound's version of 3-D. But old-timey 3-D with those special glasses was fun. Seeing Dr. Evil's hypodermic needle leaping out of the screen was definitely both scary and cool. Best of all the needle didn't hurt.
An excess of sound on the other hand can leave you battered and dazed. Fans may worship the high-decibel beat of a rock concert. But it can easily overwhelm and diminish a more visual medium. You strain to hear dialogue for instance. Especially British soldiers speaking the King's English hurriedly or amid background noise.
Aside from being sound-shocked, I really liked Dunkirk. It's an immersive film even without the Dolby enhancement. The film captures the panorama of this epic historical retreat without relying on sensory overload. A single silent image often speaks volumes. Eloquence without thunder.
The images of war are there of course - unsettling but not horrific. Aerial dogfights, strafing fire, bombs, dead and dying laying on the beach but no close-up's of blood or dismembered bodies. Edge-of-your-seat stuff but never devolving into turn-your-eyes-away overload.
Nolan creates suspense by focusing on the terror and weariness of a retreating, beaten army. Yet woven into this grim tableau are small glimmers of courage and humanity and hope. Subtle and powerful.
One scene that particularly resonates is the rescue of a downed Brit pilot by one of the small evacuation boats racing to Dunkirk. On board, the pilot demands that they turn back and return to England. Out of earshot of him, the boat owner's son is perplexed by this seeming cowardice. His father explains "He's shell-shocked, son. He may never be the same."
Later the pilot's bizarre behavior forces them to lock the door behind him below deck. At some point, he turns violent and causes an accident which seriously injures the boat owner's other son. On the return trip to England, the pilot, unaware that the son has just died of the injury, asks "Will the lad be ok?". The surviving son hesitates a moment, then simply answers "Yes". The father gives his son a poignant glance of approval.
These are the kinds of scenes that stick with me and make the film so memorable. It's well worth seeing. But, if you're at all sound sensitive, you might want to wait and watch it online sans Dolby. Otherwise, you may need to cover your ears a few times.
