Lance Corporal Thomas Blake learns that his leave has been cancelled and that he must see General Erinmore immediately. Told to pick a buddy to come with him, Blake choses Lance Corporal William Schofield.
They meet with General Erinmore who asks Blake if he has a brother in the 2nd Devons. He tells him that his brother Joseph is in the 2nd Devons. On a map Erinmore shows Blake the location of the 2nd Devons and asks him how long it would take him to travel there. On the ground it appears the Germans have undertaken a strategic withdrawal. Colonel MacKenzie in command of the 2nd Devons has sent a message indicating that he is going after the retreating Germans. He believes he can break them. But Eirnmore tells Blake that he is wrong.Aerial reconnaissance indicates that the Germans have extensive fortifications, defenses and a new type of artillery. The 2nd are to attack the German line in the morning tomorrow but they do not know about these fortifications. Erinmore can't warn the 2nd because the Germans have cut all their phone lines. Blake and Schofield are to travel to the 2nd Devons at their current position at Croisilles Wood, one mile southeast of the town of Ecoust, and deliver a message to Colonel MacKenzie to call off the attack. If they fail, they will lose two battalions, sixteen hundred men including Blake's brother Joseph Blake.
After being told to leave immediately, Blake and Schofield are given a few supplies and directions to the Yorks. They are to follow the trench west up on Sauchiehall Street, the northwest on Paradise Alley at the front. They are to continue along the front line until they find the Yorks. There they must give a note to Major Stephenson who is holding the line at the shortest span of no-man's land. It is at this point that they will cross.
When they express concern about crossing in daylight and being seen they are told not to worry as there should be no resistance. Nevertheless, as they leave, Schofield tries to convince Blake to wait until dark but he refuses, saying he must save his brother.
Blake and Schofield reach the Yorks and learn that Major Stephenson has been killed and replaced by Lieutenant Leslie. The lieutenant believes Eirnmore is crazy to believe the Germans have retreated. Despite his deep cynicism, Leslie, who tells Blake and Schofield there "is nothing like a scrap of ribbon to cheer up a widow", gives them directions on how to cross no-mans land.
The two soldiers succeed in crossing no mans land and enter an abandoned German bunker which they discover has been booby-trapped. Schofield is almost killed by rock debris when a rat trips the wire and causes an explosion. He is saved by Blake who helps lead him out of the bunker and then wash the rock dust out of his eyes. They cross the rest of no mans land, and pass through a deserted forest.
At an abandoned farmhouse, Blake and Schofield are almost killed when a German plane is shot out of the sky and crash lands in the ruins of the barn. The two soldiers rescue the pilot, his suit in flames, from the plane. When Schofield wants to shoot the pilot, Blake insists that they help him. While Schofield is getting water from the well, the pilot turns on Blake and fatally stabs him. Schofield promises a dying Blake that he will continue their mission and find the 2nd Devons to bring Erinmore's message and thus save his brother.
Shortly after Blake's death, Schofield is helped by a unit of British soldiers who have just crossed no mans land near Bapaume. The commander, Captain Smith offers Schofield a ride part of the way to Ecouste. They are going up to the new line as the Newfoundlanders have requested reinforcements. Just outside of Ecouste, Schofield is once again on his own, as the troops cannot cross the downed bridge into the town.
In Ecouste Schofield is targeted by German snipers and is eventually grazed and knocked out. When he awakens he finds the town burning. Still being chased by German soldiers, Schofield stumbles into a basement where he finds a young woman caring for a starving baby. He gives her all his food, including his canteen filled with milk.
At daylight Schofield continues on his journey but again encounters German soldiers and is pursued until he jumps into the river and is carried downstream to the Croisilles Wood. Schofield doesn't know this is where he has beached until he hears singing which leads him to the 2nd Devons. The soldiers are preparing to go into battle and Schofield now faces a race to save at least some of the soldiers from certain death.
Discussion
1917 follows the journey of two soldiers as they race against time and fend off certain death to warn a British battalion it is walking into a trap by attacking what appear to be retreating German soldiers. The mission is made even more urgent in that the soldier chosen to deliver the message has a brother in the at-risk battalion.
The film 1917 presents a somewhat false view that the British command during the Great War was deeply concerned about the loss of men. In fact, the potential loss of sixteen hundred men is almost insignificant in the face of the over four hundred thousand causalities the British Commonwealth experienced during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. For many military commanders, these losses were deemed necessary by those in positions of authority in France, Britain, Germany and even Russia. Soldiers spent years fighting over mere yards of land, knowing that certain death awaited them every time they were ordered out of their putrid trenches.
Putting aside this fictional representation, 1917 does attempt to portray the desolation and destruction of war but the film in many ways is a very sanitized presentation of war; viewers only get a quick glimpse of bodies or part of bodies in no man's land, the fires in Ecoust are in the distance, the strangulation of a German soldier by Schofield is in shadow, soldiers fall in a clean, indifferent way in the first wave of the 2nd Devon's attack and even Blake's death is quick. Perhaps the most touching moment is near the film's end, when Schofield talks with Blake's brother, Lieutenant Joseph Blake, asking him if he can write to their mother. He wants her to know Tom didn't die alone. Granted the film's focus is on the two soldiers and eventually just Schofield and his journey through many obstacles. This is accomplished with amazing cinematography and that is where this film's strength lies.
Casting was particularly strong, with both George Mackay and Dean-Charles Chapman as Schofield and Blake giving solid performances. There are a few big names including Colin Firth as General Erinmore and Benedict Cumberbatch as Colonel MacKenzie in cameo roles.
There have been numerous war movies of late, a theme the doesn't seem sustainable given the current depressing climate of Covid. Movie buffs will likely be looking for lighter fare in the coming months. Nevertheless, 1917 is a well done, fictional treatment of the Great War, that offers a few suspenseful moments and some beautiful cinematography and a lovely haunting melody at the end.
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