Review: The Dig (2021)

Simon Stone’s The Dig, the Netflix Original film that dropped in the quiet of January, has the kind of assured cast and historical premise that is appealing to anyone with an interest in history. It stars talented actors in Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, and Lily James and depicts the archaeological dig of Sutton Hoo, which uncovered Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the 6th-century. It’s handsomely shot and sheds light on the historical contributions of people left by the wayside of history, but sadly, despite all these superlatives, it ultimately proves to be a film made by people who don’t trust the historical interest of the subject matter to provide enough conflict for a dramatic feature.

The film wastes no time getting to the plot as widowed landowner Edith Pretty (Mulligan) hires self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to excavate the burial mounds on her property in the east of England in 1939. Edith has a hunch that there’s something beneath the largest mound, and sure enough there is, as Basil quickly finds evidence of an Anglo-Saxon burial ship. It proves to be a huge find, and as a result various museum officials and professional archaeologists descend on the site to pluck it away from Basil and take the credit for themselves. Edith holds her ground though, choosing instead for Basil to work alongside the more mainstream archaeologists to uncover the site’s treasures. 

This set-up is all well and good in terms of narrative plotting, as it sets up a class-conflict between the auto-didact Basil (who also wrote a book on astronomy for amateurs) and the stuffy professionals who think that such an important site cannot be trusted to him, even though his skill was instrumental in uncovering it. It’s mildly inspirational, pairing this sickly widow with the commoner archaeologist and thrilling at their discovery and partnership in uncovering the wonders of English history. Sure, there are platitudes about how the past speaks to us if we listen to it and conventional approaches to the scenes of discovery, but it’s effective. The actual moments of Basil uncovering the ship have a kind of thrill lacking in later moments, even if there’s no narrative surprise. They simply embody the thrill of hard work paying off and witnessing history being uncovered before our very eyes.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers, including Stone and screenwriter Moira Buffini, who adapted John Preston’s 2007 novel, don’t seem to trust the modest set-up and gin up the narrative with artificial conflict and historical fabrication. After the initial discovery, the narrative pivots away from Basil and Edith. To be sure, there are still developments around Edith’s illness and Basil’s attempts to remain in control of the dig site, but the focus shifts to an illicit relationship between Lily James’s ingenue archaeologist, Peggy Piggott, who is working the site with her older, timid husband, Stuart (Ben Chaplin), and Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn), Edith’s cousin who takes photos of the dig site. Peggy is a real historical figure, but this portrayal is fictionalized, while Rory is completely invented.

The film takes place right on the eve of World War II. The start of the war haunts the entire film and adds tension and conflict to the background, as characters are scared of what’s to come and ponder the ethics of digging around in the dirt while people are preparing for war. The background presence of the war adds fruitful subtext to every action and dramatic conflict, but it soon intrudes from the background of the film to dominate the archaeological narrative. Rory is called up to serve in the Air Force and he and Peggy are motivated to pursue an affair due to the uncertainty of the future. The film shifts from a celebration of archaeology and the hard work of Basil Brown and Edith Pretty to a doomed romance about Peggy and Rory. It’s as if the filmmakers agreed with the complaints of characters in the film who thought digging for treasure on the eve of war was a waste of time. Perhaps they didn’t trust viewers to watch a 110-minute film about patiently brushing dirt off ancient objects, but ironically, the moments of patient discovery are the film’s most exciting.

At least The Dig has a considered visual approach. Working with cinematographer Mike Eley, director Stone conjures a visual style reminiscent of the work of Terrence Malick and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. There is a predominance of low-angle, wide lens shots, golden hour lighting, and framing that incorporates blades of grass and the dirt of the earth. Stone attempts to mimic Malick’s transcendent style, which connects nature and humanity in the frame, viewing the divine through the natural. The visuals are often beautiful. Of course, there are also more modern visual elements such as off-kilter framing and negative space that is de-jour since Mr. Robot premiered in 2015, but it rarely distracts from the transcendent approach.

However, the editing lacks the elliptical nature of Malick’s recent works. The Dig is chronological and straightforward. The most experimental nature of its editing is in its recurrent use of pre-lapping dialogue, which means that we often hear dialogue from a future scene before the previous scene has ended. Stone often does this while framing characters in quiet contemplation, as if the effect of hearing their future thoughts allows us to witness the inner workings of their minds. It’s nothing revolutionary, but adds a contemplative nature to many moments in the film, operating similarly to voiceover in Malick’s films. It never conjures the ecstatic effect of a more rigorous editorial approach such as Malick’s, but it adds meaning to the quietest moments of the film.

All of this is to say that The Dig is made by artists who have an eye for a beautiful image and want to mimic the transcendent style of great filmmakers like Malick. It also wants to demonstrate the value of historical work and celebrate figures like Basil Brown, who are often lost in the historical record. But the film ultimately proves to share too much of our contemporary sensibility, which is that history is a bit silly when compared to life and death and love in the current moment; and that dramatic narratives need outright conflict like war to justify viewer’s attention. For a film that wants to celebrate history, it proves all too willing to overlook its lessons in favour of succumbing to the pressures of the present.

5 out of 10

The Dig (2021, UK/USA)

Directed by Simon Stone; written by Moira Buffini, based on the novel by John Preston; starring Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn, Ben Chaplin, Ken Stott, Archie Barnes, Monica Dolan.

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