The Dig

The elegance in The Dig lies in what it says about the continuity of life rather than the finality of death.

It's remarkably moving. By Jupiter, I even cried by the end.

This bittersweet tale of the unearthing of the Sutton Hoo treasures on the eve of the second world war has gentle charm to spare.

The Dig is a movie steeped in the inevitable passage of time, but it's also a reminder that the past lives on through the things we leave behind.

None of this would have worked without the presence of such fine actors.

Stone's film never gets its hands dirty in the way that Francis Lee's does. But it's a whole lot rougher, and wryer, than Downton Abbey.

At its best, The Dig transcends the clichés of typical British costume drama and lays bare the feelings that its protagonists are all trying so hard to hide.

The superb acting and gorgeous cinematography, however, isn’t enough to stop The Dig from getting a little side-tracked and bogged down in unimportant side plots and characters who don’t add much to the story.

Poetic, wistful and elevated with exquisite imagery, The Dig romanticises the unearthing of history.

It’s really something when a film is not too concerned with the aesthetic but will find the beauty in discovery of one’s own. The Dig is a good picture, wonderfully acted (Ralph Fiennes is tremendous here), and an engrossing reimagining.