Streaming on HBO Max through November 21.
Playing in Theaters.
Frank Herbert's Dune, published in 1965, is one of the most influential and inspiring works of science-fiction to ever hit bookshelves. It was one of the first examples of how ecology could function as a narrative device. An inspiration to many other astounding science-fiction & fantasy stories, such as Blade Runner and Star Wars. An engaging story of politics, destiny, and family rolled into a fascinating tale with spaceships and giant monsters.
The book was initially adapted into a feature-length film by David Lynch in 1984, and while that film has its, shall we say, sillier moments, it's still a pretty entertaining and visually striking film. This brand new adaptation by director Denis Villeneuve, while also visually striking, feels as if it's missing something. The performances (at least most of them) are pretty good, the special effects are astounding, and parts of the cinematography are pretty (I'll get back to that in a moment). Even so, despite being part 1 of a 2 part story, it didn't leave me with much of a lasting impression other than, "well, that happened," or "okay, I hope you got more in Part 2." It's not a terrible film; just not incredibly fulfilling as I might have liked.
Based on the novel, as mentioned earlier, the story follows an intergalactic royal family known as House Atreides led by Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), charged by the Emperor with taking over the mining efforts of a vital element called Spice on a desert planet called Arrakis. They are taking over for the previous manager, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellen Skarsgård), who is not too happy to have "his" operation taken over. Thus, he decides to invade Arrakis and take over the planet's mining operation for himself, eliminating House Atreides in the process. A young prince of House Atreides, Paul (Timothée Chalamet), finds himself lost in the desert with his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), as they narrowly escape their execution with the help of a few allies. Now, Paul must accept his place as the new Duke and take back Arrakis from Harkonnen. But, to do so, he will need to seek the help of the indigenous people of Arrakis, The Faron, who have not been the biggest fans of their Spice mining. How will he bring them together to help his fight?
The film does a beautiful job establishing all of the players and themes of the story. Nothing ever feels confusing or ridiculous; everything feels tangible and comprehensive. There are evident and well-executed parallels to things like colonialism and political infighting, along with mythology and fantastic abilities. There's also a good deal of creative blade fighting, which has always been a more exciting form of cinematic combat to me. Guns and blasters are predictable and dull, with a few notable exceptions; bladed fighting makes things more interesting every time.
The majority of the cast is remarkable. The film treats us to fun and energetic performances from Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, and Oscar Issac. Not to mention the ever-reliable Rebecca Furgison, whom some of you may recall as Rose The Hat from Doctor Sleep.
However, despite these pleasant elements, the film is not without some hard-to-overlook flaws.
One of my issues with the film is its leading man, Timothée Chalamet. Having seen him in previous films like Little Women (2019) (criminally underrated, by the way) and Lady Bird, I know he is capable of delivering solid performances. However, be it a lack of direction or less-than-wise creative choices on Timothée's part (we may never know), his performance feels stiff and lacking in texture. Not at all helped by some of his essential bits of dialogue, such as his famous "fear is the mind-killer" speech, is relegated to other characters (mostly his mother) for seemingly no adequate reason. His overtly bland performance, along with vital dialogue bits stripped away from his character, pulls too much focus away from his journey. Which is, ultimately, what the story is all about.
Another issue I have with the film is its cinematography, at least aspects of it. Photographed by Greig Fraser, the images of Dune are pretty in spots, especially scenes in daylight with gorgeous landscapes. However, I can't help but feel that Greig Fraser is one of those cinematographers who allowed himself to become a bit lazy with his lighting. Unlike some cinematographers I could mention, when he transitioned from celluloid film to digital video, he seemed to forget one vital aspect of great cinematography: contrast. More often than not, many cinematographers become too reliant upon some digital camera's ability to retrieve visual information (as it were) without requiring too much light. This tendency is often apparent in nighttime or darker scenes, where some cinematographers will rely too heavily on the camera's high sensitivity rather than cleverly place their lights. Often resulting in overtly dark shots that are too flat with no sense of texture or depth.
It's a minor and stylistic thing, I admit, but it continues to bother me.
Dune (2021) is not a terrible film, nor is it really the next Star Wars, as many have claimed. It's simply a film that exists and, while there are parts of it I genuinely enjoyed, I wasn't as overwhelmed as I thought I'd be. At the very least, it has made me more excited for Part 2. Perhaps Part 1 is merely the overture, building up to the grander presentation. We shall see.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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