Connor Clarke posted: " Spoiler Warning: This discussion features no narrative spoilers. You can see it as more of an objective take on the quality of the text in question. ★★★★ "Dreams are messages from the deep." Denis Villeneuve's Dune was probably my most anticipat"
Spoiler Warning: This discussion features no narrative spoilers. You can see it as more of an objective take on the quality of the text in question.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
"Dreams are messages from the deep."
Denis Villeneuve's Dune was probably my most anticipated film of the year alongside No Time to Die and The French Dispatch. Given Villeneuve's track record in superb science fiction films (Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 being two of the genres best in recent memory); it is no surprise that this delivers as one of the strangest, most valuable blockbusters of the modern age.
It is almost impossible to talk about this film without discussing its most glaring flaw despite the texts very obvious class and craftsmanship. Dune is such a part one. The opening title card even goes as far as to say so, and not that this is an especially bad thing because it really plays with structure and pace. However, in the years to come, this film will be forever dependent on the success of Dune Part II. If that film fails, then this film's quality may as well not exist because nobody will seek out an unsatisfying finale to a film with this much potential.
Regardless, that feeling only really sets in after the final credits roll. The most lasting, permanent emotions this will leave you with are far more exciting. I don't even know the last time a major American studio blockbuster made me feel like this did. The likely answer is Blade Runner 2049, and if not either The Matrix or Ridley Scott's Blade Runner before it. There are countless attempts at new science fiction franchises right now that are so endlessly forgettable because they refuse to take risks and opt for stock CGI action sequences. Dune is the antidote to that problem.
Everything about this is the perfect combination of stunning and surreal. The most obvious, at least from an outside perspective, is the Hans Zimmer score, which combines deep drum beats, warlike cries, and Zimmer's trademark synth touch. It complements the film just as well as you might expect, drifting perfectly from atmospheric to overwhelming in all the right places. The costumes are all impeccable - not a single complaint in that department. The same goes for the general production design and the value of that design with other-worldly civilisation settings and desert tribes. It does all have a very West Asian influence, perhaps deriving more from the novel, but it's certainly nice to see some different cultures being the framework for a production of this scale.
The cinematography is gorgeous; the distinct yellows and beiges are something of a trademark for Villeneuve films. However, Greig Fraser brings those colours to life here. The fairly limited colour palette never looks tired and makes the more vibrant colours, such as the blue eyes of the Fremen, pop even more within the frame. There are so many images that race through my mind thinking about it even now. It is, potentially, the most gorgeous visual presentation in Villeneuve's endlessly beautiful catalogue of masterpieces.
The performances from the entire ensemble are strong across the board. Timotheé Chalamet, the primary character, is wonderful as Paul Atreides; he mixes in a very subtle combination of nuanced quietness, silent confidence, self-doubt, and explosive anger in his performance. Highly advertised stars like Zendaya are much less present in this version, and it feels fairly apparent why she features in so much promotional work for the film. Dune is a film full of very attractive people, and an actress like Zendaya is bound to bring in crowds to a text that is fundamentally weird as hell. If she is the foundation that led people to watch this in the cinema, then so be it. Zendaya, like Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Chalamet, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, is a fantastic actor as well as being conventionally attractive. The film has the right combination of casting for the role and the film's image. Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, and Charlotte Rampling round out a great ensemble of weird sci-fi character performances.
Regardless of whether you've read Frank Herbert's 1965 original classic, regardless of whether you've seen the ill-regarded cult-classic David Lynch adaptation or seen the Jodorowsky documentary; 2021's Dune is an accessible watch. I find it astounding that mass audiences are loving this as much as they are, but it is so heart-fulfilling to see a certified master like Villeneuve finally get his science-fiction success. I hope studios give artists more freedom to do crazy stuff like Dune because it will always evoke a reaction. Seek this out if you haven't already, because love it or hate it, you'll be thinking about it for weeks.
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