Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writers: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
Cast: Timothée Chalamet (Paul Atreides), Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica), Oscar Isaac (Duke Leto Atreides), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), Stellan Skarsgård (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen), Dave Bautista (Glossu Rabban), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Thufir Hawat), Zendaya (Chani).
Rating: 3.9/5
In age of self-empowerment and independence, the idea of a messiah – or any sort of saviour – sounds a little passe. Unhealthy, even. In the absence of a savior, are we meant to just keel over and accept our fates? So to have a story that centres around a savior, like Dune, is inherently problematic – as classic as it may be.
Dune is a science fiction epic that’s based on the book of the same name. It covers the events of approximately the first half of the book. In the film, a clan is given stewardship of a planet where a precious mineral is mined. However, rivalries and political intrigue run rampant, and there is more than meets the eye to the clan’s announcement.
There’s no denying that Dune is beautiful. The visuals are a cinematic wonder, and it’s worth every dollar to watch it in IMAX. But it’s not just the visuals that are stunning – the film is accompanied by a stirring soundtrack and amazing sound design. The silence and atmos are just as much a wonder to behold as the moving pictures are. In fact, it’s the audio that truly elevates the film to another level. It’s an epic in every sense of the word.
It’s a magnificent world building effort as we’re taken into this universe and learn more about the main character and his world – Paul Atreides has arrived on the desert planet Arrakis with House Atreides where they are to shepherd the mining of a material that’s integral to the continued functioning of the universe. Along the way, he discovers he’s the messiah of the Fremen, the powerful natives of Arrakis.
And therein lies the problem – why does such a powerful race need a messiah in the first place? They’re established as being deadlier than any of the factions on the planet (granted, their prowess is probably limited mostly to skirmishes on the planet) to the extent that they’re wooed to join a side. With enough strategy they could arguably get rid of the forces that are on the planet thanks to guerilla warfare. Nothing short of blowing up the planet could stop them, thanks to their knowledge of the terrain and underground tunnels.
So why are they waiting around for a saviour? Why would it even occur to them to need one? They’re confident and powerful, and it makes no sense. It’s learned helplessness. In a way, they’re being abused and they’re allowing the abuse of their planet to continue, simply because they believe they aren’t the ones to rise up against their tormentors – even if they are actually powerful enough to do so. That’s a dangerous message to send to abuse victims in the audience.
I understand that the long and complicated backstory is that this is a machination of one of the factions, but it doesn’t jive with what we’ve been shown of the Fremen. It doesn’t mesh with their characters. It’s a great piece of lore, but it doesn’t resonate.
And that’s ultimately the issue with Dune. It focuses on the minutiae of the world, and not the minutiae of the characters. It’s too far removed from the human experience. I don’t particular feel for any character, because they are plot devices rather than three-dimensional characters. It’s missing the human element, not in the sense of emotions, but in the sense of relatability and getting us to feel for the characters.
As party one of a planned two-parter, many of the set-ups and plot points (like the dream sequences, and establishing Baron Harkonnen) end up not being paid off properly and structurally, it’s not a good story. It’s a product of commercial meddling rather than epic storytelling.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy the film – Dune is an experience, not a story. It’s splendid filmmaking but certainly not splendid storytelling. Perhaps the second part will be better – but if it stills focuses on the saviour story, then the two-parter may ironically need some saving itself.
Dune: Part One is available on Netflix.
This is an original article on marcusgohmarcusgoh.com.
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I’m an independent scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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