MovieChat Forums > The Dig (2021) Discussion > Excellent

Excellent

posted 3 years ago by Who (5146)
12 replies | jump to latest

This was a fascinating story into the real dig at Sutton Hoo. History buffs will love it, but aside from that it has an interesting drama and characters. Fiennes character is very endearing as a self educated excavator who was brushed aside by the Oxbridge types who hoarded all the glory of the find. There was some creative editing where two scenes are inter-spliced. Has this been done before? Anyway I highly recommend this one. The young actor who played Robert Pretty was an amazing talent too. Great acting all round. 👍👍👍

[–] JBran (1583) 3 years ago

Agreed, great film and i liked how they used the dialogue out of place between shots.

[–] liscarkat (16543) 3 years ago

As a professional archaeologist, I'd like to see them depict a scientific excavation realistically, not just a bunch of guys hacking away in the sand with picks looking for magic gold statues or scary skeletons like in most "archaeology" movies.

[–] Who (5146) 3 years ago

Cool job. This is about a real dig and they did find real gold artifacts. Not sure if they portrayed the dig as historically accurate though. I got the impression that their methods were quite primitive compared to modern digs where there are advanced tools and such.

[–] PaladinNJ (20310) 3 years ago

I have this image of them brushing the sand away with toothbrushes (I don't know what they actually are called, just closest laymen's approximation I can think of). I can only imagine how quickly people would exit the theater.

[–] TearofLys (2398) 3 years ago

That would be so boring that not even archaeologists would watch it.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

So did you feel that this movie depicted the process more realistically?

[–] HarlemEagle42 (16180) 3 years ago

Good to hear. It looked interesting from the trailer.

[–] redban (5203) 3 years ago

The movie is wonderfully filmed, in a pretty location. Ralph Fiennes gives an Oscar-worthy performance

I just feel the plot was lacking, and at times, I feel the film was trying too hard to seek critical acclaim, aiming for deep messages that movies don’t convey well (some messages are meant for books / literature)

[–] joej2923 (2959) 3 years ago

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I always admired the relics dug out of Sutton Hoo and Lindisfarne. I would have preferred more time devoted to the actual dig techniques instead of the relationship troubles of Lily James' character.

[–] Who (5146) 3 years ago

Agree. I enjoyed it all too but wondered why they brought in this sidestory about the newlyweds. It reeked of filler material for a plot they wanted to drag out or were afraid was too dry without some romantic drama. Pity, because I was most interested in the dig, the way the two main characters were drawn to archeology, and the importance of the find.

[–] CheekyMonkey (584) 3 years ago

I enjoyed the movie too... Which scenes are you talking about, in terms of the inter-spliced editing?

[–] johnmarti59 (2356) 3 years ago

Yes, I thought it was really good; fine acting and I forgot I was watching a movie at one point.