There are some things we just can’t succeed at,” thus preparing him for the future. Her insistence that he must get credit for his work is as touching as his bonding with her young son Robert Pretty (a natural Archie Barnes) whom Brown tells, “we all fail, everyday. For its Edith’s hunch that leads Brown to the right mound. But like Brown, her talent can’t be discounted.Īnd if you think in the cut and dried subject of archaeology, recounting one of the greatest archaeological finds, feelings have no place, you couldn’t be more wrong. For isn’t the site too delicate for the rather heavy Phillips to step on. Like the young and attractive archaeologist, Peggy Piggott (Lily James), who smarts under the assumption that she may have been hired precisely for her light weight and nimbleness.
She may not be central to the narrative but is a key element as are others.
Why past and hence archaeology is significant comes through in the lines uttered by Brown’s wife (Monica Dolan).
His disdain both for the excavator and the fair sex lends yet another dimension to the film, which anyway is not restricted to just the discovery that changed the historical perspective on Dark Ages. The moment he arrives on the scene after Brown has discovered a stunning remnant of Anglo-Saxon era, no less than a ship with a burial chamber, the chip on his shoulder is evident in his body language. Nevertheless, Ken Stott as Charles Phillips of the British Museum appears born to the part. Yes the politics and manoeuvrings behind the archaeological finds is visible and could be exaggerated too. But the film refuses to get trapped into the politics of war even though one of its characters Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn), depicted as cousin of Edith, is about to join the RAF. The spectre of the Second World War is hovering over Britain and to some extent the cloud is cast over the digging too. One moment Brown is almost buried under the mound, yet another there is hint of romance and finally, he finds reason to shout Eureka. Yet there is a momentum just like the wheels of the bicycle on which Brown pedals. And the ambience is incredibly befitting of the era to which the film belongs.Įxpectedly, the pace of things is not rushed. While telling us the story of Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) and Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan), who employs him to excavate burial mounds in her property in Suffolk, England, a softness suffuses the narrative. It is as much about relationships, the humanity of some, as the arrogance of a few, the generosity of an ailing woman as the meanness of others. Only The Dig, streaming on Netflix, is not merely limited to the talent of one such excavator, a self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown whose rightful pace in British history can’t be denied. Unsung/real heroes have been a theme of many a film.
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