This film could’ve been wrapped up in 90 minutes if they hadn’t dragged it out with too many characters. It simply tells a story without any wow factor. However, while there’s nothing majorly wrong with the film, it’s merely just passable for a couple of hours viewing on a Sunday afternoon, but not one you’d rush home to see. The film brings us lush viewes of the Suffolk countryside, and a pleasing complimentary violin-based soundtrack, and as is shown by the trailer, they unearth a ship buried under the mound, festooned with a ton of trinkets, along with doing battle with the elements, as they get torrential rain at one point. Watch it now.The Dig begins in 1938, in Suffolk, where Edith Pretty ( Carey Mulligan, Collateral) had learned there were approximately 18 ancient burial mounds on the Sutton Hoo estate, near to her home, so she summons M ( Ralph Fiennes)… sorry, archaeologist Basil Brown, to get stuck in, and this film tells the largely untold story of his excavation of the site, since his work wasn’t at all recognised for many years after.īut it’s a race against time, partly because she has an underlying health condition (she had pneumatic fever as a child), and partly because 1939 and World War II is just around the corner, since that’s bound to knacker any excavations, and it’s certainly stopped the British Museum getting involved from an early stage, hence why Basil’s called in. The historical setting itself is intriguing - especially for those who are newcomers to the Sutton Hoo legacy - but the personal, nuanced touches delivered by Fiennes and Mulligan throughout the two-hour film really make it stand out.

The Dig is objectively one of Netflix’s best films in the past couple of years.

Each of these gorgeously edited scenes explored their characters further, and their desire to dig deeper became that much more poignant. Basil and Mrs Pretty's off-screen chats delved into their backgrounds, loves, losses, and personal tragedies.

He uses an off-screen voiceover technique a few times over the course of the movie which really captivates how wonderful each of the actors are - and truly makes this vista-filled story stand out from your average historical fiction flick.Įxtended voiceover conversations give little insights into the idiosyncracies of each of the characters. Despite this, it is important to touch briefly on Simon Stone’s exceptional directing.

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