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The Dig

46 replies

Skipsurvey · 31/01/2021 09:38

this was number one in the UK yesterday,
watched it,
enjoyed it
but totally unrelated Lily James story I feel, and not even true, and with no outcome

OP posts:
Wendyhause · 06/02/2021 16:19

I purposely have not read any posts on this as am half way through watching and intend seeing the second half tonight. So far I am loving it. Something very different from anything I have ever chosen to spend time viewing.
It took a while for me to get used to Ralph Fiennes playing his character with that accent as I always just associate him with being that cruel officer in Schindler's List.

Wendyhause · 07/02/2021 00:49

Ok I watched the second half and it was good mostly but as others have said some of the side stories, love interests and sexual tensions etc. were not really necessary but I suppose all films have to be padded out somehow and what better way than a closet homosexual husband and a horny young wife who succumbs to the handsome new air force man in uniform.
I confess I at first didn't know those characters were based on real life people and the story true! I hadn't read anything before beginning to watch but between the first half and second I did discover the amazing dig find was real!
Ralph Fiennes character had hints of Ted from the Fast Show for me. Sorry but he really did. Marks out of 10 though? I give it a nice 8.5

EduCated · 07/02/2021 01:32

I also hadn’t read anything about it beforehand - vaguely knew it was based on real life, but didn’t make the Sutton Hoo connection until the end credits.

DP and I commented on the ages without knowing that Carey Mulligan’s character was supposed to be older. It felt off regardless! She was excellent in it though.

I am also a fan of Lily James, but did find the tangle of side stories a bit disjointed and abrupt.

ScribblingPixie · 07/02/2021 12:57

Didn't enjoy it. The tragedy of having a child very late (47?) then having to deal with husband's death and your own impending death knowing it will leave your child alone - my god, the tragedy of it mixed with the satisfaction of being part of the discovery of life. I really wanted to see an older actress in the part. And hated that they diminished the other female participants and created a time-wasting fictional love story. Didn't get much of a sense of the impact of their discovery either. Very disappointed in it.

irishfeminist · 07/02/2021 13:15

I was more interested in the dig than the annoying Lily James carry-on! She is such a dull actress. Agree about the awful sexism. Nicole Kidman would've been the right age but she has that weird frozen face where it's hard to know what age she is. Kristin Scott Thomas would've been perfect. She and Ralph could have reprised The English Patient!

the80sweregreat · 11/02/2021 21:59

Lily James carry on ! Made me laugh :)
I loved the actors and the actual story which I only vaguely knew about because of ' the detectorists'. It is an amazing story.
I'm not keen on Lily James ( especially after the Dominic West debacle) but the rest was good.
Ralph Finnes was great , such a versatile actor.
I wonder how much more is buried away down there?

knittingaddict · 16/02/2021 18:06

I like this site for comparing films with the true story. Makes for some fascinating comparisons.

www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/the-dig/

BaconAndAvocado · 19/02/2021 17:32

Enjoyed this film.
Gentle, beautifully shot.
Lily James and Carey Mulligan always a good bet.

SpringisSpinning · 20/02/2021 01:06

I have enjoyed it but found its utterly strange that we never get more than A glimpse of gold here and there and never actually see the stuff that was found? When, what's his face is doing his.. Dark ages speech, wasn't that the moment for the camera to linger over these objects?

We never see the find.

It started out as though cary and Ralph get it on then that totally slipped and the other couple get focus me weird

murbblurb · 24/02/2021 22:33

I learned a lot about Sutton hoo although the clichéd romantic nonsense was obvious padding, and an insult to the real Peggy Piggot. Also some sloppy editing - people speak without moving their lips.

Anything that chucks out Kidman gets my vote. Mulligan is good.

peak2021 · 26/02/2021 07:35

@TherapistInATabard agree about Kristen Scott Thomas. Also depending on the authenticity of her spoken English, Isabelle Hupert.

colouringindoors · 10/04/2021 22:23

Well it may have been romanticised and not reflecting Edith's age. But I loved it. Visually beautiful. Touching performances, Edith, Robert, Mr Brown. And a bit of a love story thrown in too.

colouringindoors · 10/04/2021 22:28

Very glad it was Carey M not Nicole K.

flyingtartar · 10/04/2021 22:41

Just re-watched this with ds1, who loved it. I've also just seen that the film was based on the novel about the excavation, which was written by one of Peggy's relatives and it is from the novel that the extra details about Peggy, seen by some as inaccurate/disrespectful to her, have come from. I think that's really interesting and I'd quite like to read it. Apparently he has said he made additions and changes for dramatic impact and didn't base the book on her account of it or mean to denigrate her work.

SaturdayRocks · 27/04/2021 04:49

I really enjoyed this, but was Shock at the Carey casting, as I still think of her as Kitty Bennet.

In actual fact, there is only a three-year age gap between her and Lily James!

upinaballoon · 13/12/2021 18:03

@flyingtartar

Just re-watched this with ds1, who loved it. I've also just seen that the film was based on the novel about the excavation, which was written by one of Peggy's relatives and it is from the novel that the extra details about Peggy, seen by some as inaccurate/disrespectful to her, have come from. I think that's really interesting and I'd quite like to read it. Apparently he has said he made additions and changes for dramatic impact and didn't base the book on her account of it or mean to denigrate her work.
I didn't see the film until September, on the big screen. Did you read the book? I knew about Sutton Hoo, have been there and saw a good TV programme about it years ago. I read the book after I had seen the film.
Riverlee · 13/12/2021 18:24

Watched the film last week. Enjoyed it, but found it a bit whimsical. Carey and Ralph were superb in it. Considering the Sutton Hoo collection was one of the largest bequeaths to The British museum, surprised it wasn’t shown.

Politics4me · 13/12/2021 22:26

The fictitious elements are annoying but as I understand it do not skew the story. (Not like US Navy capturing an Enigma machine).
But the true stories of the photographers could have been introduced, one compound character perhaps?
For me it was good but lacked bite, as if the characters were rehearsing at 90% and would give it 100% on the night.
I liked the mood though of discovering something important that was totally unconnected with impending war.

upinaballoon · 14/12/2021 10:24

When I see trailers nowadays so many seem to have fighting and armies in strange helmets, and The Dig was so normal and quiet and beige and brown (in more ways than one) and gently rippling.

coffeerevelsrock · 18/12/2021 14:52

@upinaballoon

When I see trailers nowadays so many seem to have fighting and armies in strange helmets, and The Dig was so normal and quiet and beige and brown (in more ways than one) and gently rippling.
Completely agree- so well put.

I loved it and I didn't mind the 'extra' story - I thought that added to the poignancy of the impending war. Also loved Ralph Fiennes in this, such a good but understated performance. I especially liked the scenes with his wife - touching, unglamorous and believable.

upinaballoon · 19/12/2021 18:56

In April flyingtartar said she would like to read the book and I have been wondering if she did.

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