“The Dig,” February 14, 2021, Netflix. I enjoyed this film based on a novel about a true historical event. It’s a story of mismatches and class on the eve of WWII England, this is a very studied, very British film. Ralph Fiennes excels as Basil Brown, a local, archeologist/digger whose knowledge comes from working digs for 50 years in Sussex. He is also widely read and self-taught about archeology, astronomy, and the world. He has earned his chance to work the dig of a lifetime that transforms British history and archeology, the uncovering of a buried funereal ship on the land of gentrywoman Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan). She wants to explore the mounds on her lands and time is of the essence. War is on the way, and personal issues are forcing events forward. Their great works are, however, taken over by the professionals from both the local and national museums who, despite their erudition and status, often know and can intuit much less. This story becomes one of romantic matches and mismatches, handled with the decorum of a society on the edge of transformation into a looser modernity. Gender and sexuality are still tightly controlled, as are interclass social interactions and propriety. Watching Fiennes work was a real pleasure and Mulligan’s Edith as a good match to his yeomanly and knowing humility. The only piece that felt a bit off was the connection between the soon-to-be-airman, Edith’s cousin Robert, and archeologist Peggy Piggot (Lily James), who finds herself in a new, but very wrongly chosen, marriage with a fellow archeologist, the closeted Stuart (Ben Chaplin). The male dominance is both oppressive and a bit too transparent, and her path forward veers toward the melodramatic and romantic, albeit in a truly British manner. As with all these types of ‘based on’ stories, one is left sorting out the historical from the fictional, recognizing that what the filmmakers are trying to do, first and foremost, is create a marketable product.
“The Dig,” February 14, 2021, Netflix. I enjoyed this film based on a novel about a true historical event. It’s a story of mismatches and class on the eve of WWII England, this is a very studied, very British film. Ralph Fiennes excels as Basil Brown, a local, archeologist/digger whose knowledge comes from working digs for 50 years in Sussex. He is also widely read and self-taught about archeology, astronomy, and the world. He has earned his chance to work the dig of a lifetime that transforms British history and archeology, the uncovering of a buried funereal ship on the land of gentrywoman Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan). She wants to explore the mounds on her lands and time is of the essence. War is on the way, and personal issues are forcing events forward. Their great works are, however, taken over by the professionals from both the local and national museums who, despite their erudition and status, often know and can intuit much less. This story becomes one of romantic matches and mismatches, handled with the decorum of a society on the edge of transformation into a looser modernity. Gender and sexuality are still tightly controlled, as are interclass social interactions and propriety. Watching Fiennes work was a real pleasure and Mulligan’s Edith as a good match to his yeomanly and knowing humility. The only piece that felt a bit off was the connection between the soon-to-be-airman, Edith’s cousin Robert, and archeologist Peggy Piggot (Lily James), who finds herself in a new, but very wrongly chosen, marriage with a fellow archeologist, the closeted Stuart (Ben Chaplin). The male dominance is both oppressive and a bit too transparent, and her path forward veers toward the melodramatic and romantic, albeit in a truly British manner. As with all these types of ‘based on’ stories, one is left sorting out the historical from the fictional, recognizing that what the filmmakers are trying to do, first and foremost, is create a marketable product.