Sam Mendes’ 1917 has certainly deserved every accolade it has been given thus far. It’s an undeniably powerful film about war, survival and friendship. Its dedication to historical accuracy, beautiful cinematography, and sound design all demonstrate the hard work put into the film.
One of the most compelling aspects of this movie though, is the characters that inhabit this war-torn world. Although the story really takes place around two central figures, there are a number of other important players. Here are 10 things you might not have noticed about the characters.
BLAKE’S JEALOUSY
Blake is a supportive friend and on a mission to save his brother from certain death. However, the character is driven by more than just his love for his family. He also has a little jealousy of Schofield, which fuels his mission.
Blake is pretty obsessed with getting a medal. It’s on his mind constantly as he’s fighting to save his brother and seems jealous that not only did Schofield get given a medal for his service but that he gave it away for some alcohol.
SCHOFIELD’S FATE
Schofield manages to survive the events of the film and delivers the message that saves so many lives. However, his fate is pretty much sealed within the first half of the film. As he crosses the trenches he gets caught on some barbed wire.
His cut is deep and bloody and he tries his best to bandage it up. He then manages to put the same hand into a dead body. The problem is, therefore, that the cut could become extremely infected from this and perhaps could spell the end of Schofield.
CAPTAIN SMITH’S PAST
Captain Smith clearly has a troubled past as evidenced by the very important advice to Schofield. He’s a generous man and one that wants to help all his men as best he can. He also feels like those above his pay grade shouldn’t be trusted.
His warning, that some men love to keep the war going, seems to come from a place of experience. Perhaps Smith has been in a very similar situation in the past and it unfortunately ended much differently.
FUTURE OF SMITH’S MEN
Smith’s men are also in for a tough surprise at the end of their journey. They are heading straight into a war zone and possibly even a trap. With the bridges down and the town they wanted to visit occupied, they are probably moving into an ambush.
The likelihood is that none of them survived what was to come. It could have even been some of those men who ended up at the end of the river, symbolized by the same pink flowers that were present when Smith entered the film.
MACKENZIE’S ATTITUDE
It’s historically accurate to suggest that some colonels and captains did ignore orders to carry on their vision of the war. Colonel Mackenzie seems like the sort of man that would try to manipulate the war so that he can leave it sooner.
It’s as if he is okay with ignoring orders because it doesn’t matter what they do; the orders change the following week. There’s a bitterness in his attitude and he seems like a man on the edge, perhaps set to make some very dangerous decisions.
LESLIE’S CHOICES
It seems that Lieutenant Leslie has made a number of choices that has caused him to end up in a pit of misery. The young man seemed as if he could have risen up the ranks but now comes across as if he’s a bit of a con man.
It also appears that he is now a less effective leader than those around him. How he got into this position must be due to the choices he has made in the past. The likelihood is that Leslie will spend the rest of the war in the same rank, in that trench.
ERINMORE’S LEADERSHIP
General Erinmore may just be one of the men that Mackenzie actually resents. Erinmore is the sort of character that has entered the war from the side of privilege and has very little idea what it’s really like to be out on the battlefield.
There’s something manipulative about him, although he seems to be a leader that can boost morale in his men. However, his decisions may continue to be questioned long past this event, and he could be a representative of the men who made the wrong choices in history.
LAURI’S SURVIVAL
Lauri, the French woman whom Schofield came across as he hid from the Germans, probably doesn’t have a very bright future either. With the Germans burning down the town she lives in, it might not be long until her house is next.
While she has done a heroic thing by taking on another person’s child, she probably won’t be able to survive for much longer. The food and milk she is given is more or less the last of her supplies, and it appears she’s a symbol of the innocent victims of the war.
PILOT’S PARANOIA
The German pilot that crashed and was being rescued by the two British soldiers might have been suffering from PTSD, some kind of paranoia, or perhaps even the immediate shock of the crash that he’s just been in.
Although he does stab and kill Blake, this may not have been a coherent decision, but a panicked and reactionary one in the middle of war. His words are harsh and his actions are deadly, but perhaps this isn’t a choice he really wanted to make, but one for his own survival.
LIEUTENANT’S WELFARE
Lieutenant Blake has clearly had a hellish experience so far in the war, perhaps more so than many others. He barely survived going into the trap that killed so many, has lost lots of his men and has now even lost his own brother.
His immediate reaction is of course one of grief but almost one that suggests his mental state is worse than we realize. It appears that this is the last straw, but Schofield may have saved him with his kind words and support.
