The Dig (2021) slips us inside the archaeologist’s mind and elegantly converges past and present. Graceful imagery of the English countryside adorns the film; a romance grows while another is severed before it sprouts, and archaeology becomes about more than artifacts in and of themselves. The film successfully connects the distant past to the individual in the here and now and coaxes the viewer into taking a heartfelt look into the human condition.
Based on a true story, The Dig brings us back to 1939, when England was on the verge of war. Excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) and landowner Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) collaborate on a plan to dig inside one of the mounds at Sutton Hoo. After commencing with the excavation, Pretty finds herself struggling with her health as the team of amateur archaeologists uncover a monumental find: an elaborate Anglo-Saxon ship burial.
Charles Phillips (Ken Stott) sweeps in as the film’s main antagonist–a Cambridge archaeologist who works for the British Museum and aims to take control of Brown’s beloved site. Additions to the team include Peggy Piggot (Lily James), who brings a layer of romantic drama to the site as she copes with an unsatisfying marriage and aspires to become an archaeologist in her own right.
Performances by the Main Cast of The Dig
Ralph Fiennes seamlessly becomes the rough but humble self-taught archaeologist, whose humility comes with an intense passion and pride in his work. He represents an unsung hero who is overshadowed, and often taken advantage of, by educated elites.
Cary Mulligan as Edith Pretty is likewise convincing in her role as the wealthy widow and owner of the land that ensconces the famed archaeological site. Though a young actress, Mulligan believably portrays Pretty’s maturity and declining health as the film progresses. She lives up to the difficult task of conveying Pretty’s existential vexations as she wrestles with thoughts of mortality and the individual’s place in the whole of archaeological history.
We all fail. Every day. There are some things we just can’t succeed at no matter how hard we try. I know it’s not what you want to hear.
Refreshing performances by Lily James and Ken Stott bring a necessary break from the more self-possessed leads. Ken Stott’s portrayal of the arrogant Phillips teeters on overdone, making Phillips seem almost like a caricature of an egotistical scholar. Despite the lack of nuance, the character adds energy to the film and his antagonism successfully piques the viewer’s interest.
Lily James, an already experienced period-film actress, is an ideal choice for the role of the sprite, young archaeologist in pre-WW2 England. But Peggy Piggot is, unfortunately, one of the least faithful characters to the true story. Written as a novice aspiring to rise up in the field, Piggot is downgraded from the experienced researcher she was in real life. Still, the film takes its cue from the novel in using Piggot for a romantic story line–which adds allure even if it paints a less than accurate portrait of the real archaeologist.
The Dig Keeps a Good Pace and Steadily Builds Our Interest
The first part of the film starts off with Pretty’s disheartening realization that she may not have long to live, despite her first doctor’s optimistic prognosis. From here, mortality is an undercurrent of her story, as she tries to come to terms with the nature of death and what it means archaeologically and spiritually. But the film lingers on these solemn scenes just long enough for the audience to feel along with the characters, but it doesn’t waste time in moving forward.
Edith: We die. We die and we decay. We don’t live on.
Basil: I’m not sure I agree. From the first human handprint on a cave wall, we’re part of something continuous. So, we don’t really die.
For a time, we’re teased with a possible romance between Brown and Pretty, but the mild infatuation is tamped down as the film shifts its focus back to the dig and the new archaeologists on the site. A budding romance between Peggy and Pretty’s cousin, Rory (Johnny Flynn), breathes more life into the film.
Archaeological revelations that occur incrementally and build in momentum also add energy to the film; perhaps even giving nonfans of archaeology a sliver of enthusiasm for Brown’s find. The conflict between Brown and Phillips and other tribulations along the way all go by the wayside in one climactic moment where Phillips finally realizes what Brown had intuited from the beginning: the site predated the Vikings and proved that the Anglo-Saxons were more culturally advanced than most people had realized.
Archaeology and the Individual
The “I” comes up literally and symbolically within the film itself and also on the cover image where Edith Pretty stands on her land; the “I” in “Dig” stands on her dress with “The” hovering directly above it. In exploring the relationship between antiquated remains and the lives of people in the present, the film touches on the question of where we fit in the grander scheme of the world and its history–a subject especially apt with the threat of a war looming overhead. While The Dig isn’t equipped to explore these questions in too great a depth, it invites the audience to engage in further conversation.
Lovers Peggy and Rory stand around a campfire and ponder what would be preserved if they died there and now. The scene is simple, but emotionally piercing. It shows us that the objects people leave behind are quietly imbued with a range of symbols and emotions that give up a few of their secrets. The film understands the importance of placing this in the context of Sutton Hoo, a site that showed not only what people made, but what people may have thought.
Mark my words May. I won’t receive any credit. I won’t even be a footnote.
Some viewers may feel they should pass on The Dig because it feels disconnected from the plights and preoccupations of our millennium, and the film shows us how studies of the past in the wake of social upheaval can be relegated to a lower tier of importance. But it also works to persuade us that antiquity and the present are not too far removed.
Check out the trailer for THE DIG here:
The Dig
Pros
- Outstanding Direction
- Great Plot
- Great performances by the cast
Cons
- Not for everybody
