By Gurmukh Singh
TORONTO: The Dig (on Netflix) is an archeological period film. But it’s not only for those interested in history and archaeology. It’s also for the general public to appreciate our collective past and preserve it.
Directed by young Australian filmmaker Simon Stone, The Dig – with Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes in lead roles – retraces the 1939 unearthing of the British treasure trove called “Sottun Hoo find” from the sixth/seventh century Anglo-Saxon ship grave from a widow’s property in Suffolk countryside in Britain. It’s adapted from the same name 2007 novel by John Preston.
Termed “one of the most important archeological discoveries of all time,” the excavation yielded gold and garnet artifacts – a helmet, shoulder clasps, and a golden belt buckle – which are now preserved at the British Museum.
Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) is a young rich widow with a little boy Robert (played by Archie Barnes) who senses that there is something buried deep inside her property mounds in Suffolk countryside. Why? Because she developed an avid interest in archeology in her teenage years by keenly following the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb by British Egyptologist Harold Carter in 1922. In fact, she was accepted for a university course in archeology, but her father stopped her from pursuing it.
Though the mounds on her property have been picked over by people for centuries, her keen archeological sense drives her to find any secrets beneath them.
It is 1939, and looming the Second Word War adds to her urgency to complete the excavation. So Edith Pretty hires amateur excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) after a bit of haggling.
The brilliant cinematography by Mike Eley opens the film with long shots of Ralph’s character getting off the boat and cycling his way to Edith’s house to discuss the excavation.
The music is in keeping with the overall theme. The grey skies and RAF sorties hinting at a looming war provide subtle melancholy vibes and urgency to the plot. Brilliant.
But despite the urgency, director Simon Stone deftly never revs up the pace except when the throngs of people descend on the site after the discovery of the grave. The director also doesn’t allow the subplots to detract from the main story except for sequeezing in the budding romance between Peggy (Lily James) and Edith’s cousin Rory (Johnny Flynn) during the digging.
Ralph Fiennes delivers a stand-out performance – slow, brooding, grubby, wise and spot-on with his archeological instincts (that his discovery belongs to 6th/7th century Anglo-Saxons, not the Vikings as claimed by `expert’ Charles Phillips). By the way, Ken Stott portrays Charles Phillips superbly.
As for Carey Mulligan, is she the right fit for the role of Edith Pretty? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably the director has allowed her past (caring for her ailing dad, late marriage and early widowhood) to hang a little too heavy on her character.
Their coming together makes Edith and Basil kindred souls. They have a shared love of archeology and they discuss it fondly. If there is any romantic embers burning in them, they never bubble up.
In the end, Edith Pretty’s appreciation of the archeological and historic importance of the excavation from her property guides her to donate it to the place where they should rightly belong – the British Museum.
A little bit more about the existential dilemma – that Basil and Edith discussed earlier – could have been an appropriate ending to the film. After all, The Dig is about graves, death, past and mortality.
