The Dig (2021)

 Score: 3 / 5

Edith Pretty wants to dig. She lives with her young son Robert on a huge estate in Suffolk, in poor health, no doubt partially due to her nursing of her own father before his death, and her subsequent marriage leaving her a widow. But she's sure those mounds out on her property fields contain something interesting; her childhood interest in archaeology has piqued her adult interest in culture and history. No time like the present, either: it's 1939, as war in Europe began its march, and the fear of losing art and history was becoming palpably real. Carey Mulligan plays Ms. Pretty with all this left mostly unspoken, providing a depth of character with the grace of an English lady, someone whose past has scarred her but whose future she is determined to claim for herself.

She hires Basil Brown, an excavator and archaeologist working at Ipswich Museum to come unearth her mounds, which now that I say it, sounds much more sexual than this movie ever gets. Mr. Brown, a humble man with no formal education or financial pretense, arrives on the scene determined to work hard. Played by a typically eccentric and introverted Ralph Fiennes, he gives off the impression he learned from his father and grandfather and knows that their way is best. Honoring the past means honoring his own legacy too, right? But when Basil sees the property, his hopes teeter on doubt; the land has not been preserved, and these mounds have been scoured before. Between the considerable money Edith offers him and Robert's clear affection, viewing Basil as a father figure, he assembles a small team and starts digging.

The titular dig site reveals a wealth of treasure, ultimately known as the Sutton Hoo cemeteries. The Anglo-Saxon burial ship has been touted as one of the greatest archaeological finds in British history, predating the more common but similar Viking sites. After Edith and Basil, in a mesmerizing first act of the film, approach the same questions from totally different backgrounds, they (and we) are rewarded with the feeling of awe as the burial ship stands uncovered. Before long, eager authorities descend on the site, determined to assist and, of course, claim some fame. They bring with them ambition and drama, which starts to annoy Edith and Basil and carries the bulk of the middle of the film.

Simon Stone's drama is lovely to behold. Soft, warm, and tranquil, this is the kind of sentimental historical drama that, ten or twenty years ago, would have been produced by the Weinstein Company. Its strong performances, pervasive thematic underpinnings about art and history, and absorbing sense of place would have made it awards-bait in years past. But right now, after the last four years and during a pandemic, as those awards shows continue to be lambasted about their lack of diversity, The Dig feels distinctly out of place. Like the treasures unearthed by Edith and Basil, this relic is as beautiful as it is forgettably quaint. Even as it tries to peacefully and nicely hammer home the importance of this event and this find, it rarely manages to break free from its own quiet self-importance to make us care about it. Because of this event, we know Anglo-Saxons had culture and art, as one impassioned character declares in the film; this movie just wants to show us how that knowledge came to be known.

Which would still make for a nice movie, I suppose, except for all the silly drama that enters in the second half. Once outsiders pop in, Basil all but disappears and with him went the movie's heart. Vapid exchanges between strangers churn out drama faster than the mounds churn out gold. Ken Stott (The Hobbit trilogy) plays a famous archaeologist who wants to take the site from Basil's amateur hands. Johnny Flynn (Emma.) shows up as Edith's cousin Rory, who takes pictures of the dig. Stuart and Peggy (Ben Chaplin and Lily James) arrive to help, but they are both dissatisfied in their marriage; as Peggy and Rory grow closer together, Stuart seems too interested in a male colleague. Then Rory is summoned to the war effort. It's all a lot of drama that doesn't really have to do with anything, and it arrives far too late to be of any consequence to the film. Even the impending threat of the Blitz only marginally matters, adding the tiniest sense of urgency to the whole proceedings, making most of the romantic aspects of the second half merely irritating.