Once the film's canvas broadens to include a larger company of supporting characters, emotional rewards become less plentiful although Mike Eley's cinematography retains its warming glow.ĭirector Simon Stone evokes the period with elan and he offers constant reminders of the spectre of war that could wrench apart fragile relationships across the class divide including one tragic interlude in The Broads. The first half, which concentrates on the dynamic between Mulligan and Fiennes, is the most compelling, galvanised by understated yet winning performances from the two leads. Tirelessly working the land, Basil makes a historic discovery: an Anglo-Saxon ship burial.īritish Museum archaeologist Charles Phillips (Ken Stott) and various members of the London establishment descend on Sutton Hoo to stake their claim to a site of national interest.Īs a tug of war ensues between Basil and well-to-do academics, passions stir between Edith's cousin Rory (Johnny Flynn) and the unhappily married wife (Lily James) of one of the visiting scholars (Ben Chaplin).īased on John Preston's novel and written for the screen by Moira Buffini, The Dig is a handsomely crafted drama about the precious things that lurk beneath the surface of emotionally scarred people and the undulations of our green and pleasant land. "I've been on digs since I was old enough to hold a trowel," he confides warmly. With the Second World War beckoning, she hires pipe-smoking archaeologist Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to excavate the site. TERMINALLY-ill widow Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) is convinced that treasures lie beneath the surface of the grassy burial mounds on her estate in Suffolk. Starring: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Johnny Flynn, Lily James, Ben Chaplin, Monica Dolan, Ken Stott.
THE DIG (Cert 12, 111 mins, streaming from January 29 exclusively on Netflix, Drama/Romance/War)
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