Dune: Part One
“Dune: Part One” is a leap of faith, given that “Part Two” has not been given the go ahead yet. I will give Denis Villeneuve credit- he has made “Dune” accessible for people not familiar with Frank Herbert’s book, or the David Lynch 1984 film, or the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries’s from the 2000s. If Warner Bros. is smart, they will announce “Part Two” on Monday, regardless of the numbers, because this is a slow-burn type of movie, where people will latch on to it over time more than maybe just one weekend. Plus, if you’re putting “Part One” in the title, and don’t give us a “Part Two,” it’ll feel like a kick in the teeth. Now that that’s over and Harkonnendone with, on to the film.
Villeneuve is a filmmaker who makes a lot of sense when it comes to this material. In “Arrival,” he told an epic, all-encompassing narrative about communication being vital for survival, even among those whom do not share the same language. In “Blade Runner 2049,” he took an ambitious swing at a science fiction classic that built on what came before, but also told its own story. In “Dune,” those two ideas collide in a film that must build upon fairly well-worn tropes, but also stay true to more complicated ideas in Herbert’s book, in addition to creating that world on screen. Based on what I know of Herbert’s book, I’d say the first part and third part are done well, with the middle one being given more of a cursory tip of the hat more than a deep dive into the political machinations. That makes sense; the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) was always going to be the natural story arc of any cinematic adaptation of Dune.
“Dune” takes place in the year 10,191. The Emperor of the known galaxy is ceding control of the desert planet Arrakis, wherein a spice is mined with both powerful hallucinagenic strength, as well as fuel for space travel, to House Atreides after it has long been held by House Harkonnen. Why the sudden move? Even Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Issac) has his questions about the choice, but regardless, he is ready to heed the call. His concubine, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and son Paul will accompany him, but not before a trusted soldier, Duncan (Jason Momoa), goes to try and make peace with the Freman, people indigenous to Arrakis whom live in the vast desert sands. Paul has been having strange dreams about Arrakis, though, and there is thought that he might be a prophecized “One” who can become the true Emperor, and lead the galaxy towards peace. They do have reasons to question the motive to make them the fief lord of Arrakis, which will be answered quickly.
One of the things that I think Villeneuve and his co-writers, Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, do well here is set up the idea that Paul is not just the son of Duke Leto Atreides, but capable of profound spiritual and mental powers, which come from Lady Jessica. This gives Ferguson a compelling presence in the film beyond just being Issac’s wife- in fact, one could argue the traditional roles are reversed here; the Duke is but a pawn in the narrative, whereas Jessica has a vital piece to play in Paul’s development throughout the film, which follows a “hero’s arc” but also hints that maybe, it’s not going to be as simple as that for the young Atreides. This might be the most compelling performance Chalamet has given since “Call Me By Your Name,” even if it doesn’t traffic in obvious emotional beats- that’s part of why it works so well. The connection between he and Ferguson is strong, and the images he has of Zendaya’s Chani leave us with a sense of mystery, which makes her eventual arrival into the story, and the contrast, so effective.
The film is a technical marvel, with special props to the production design, costume design and cinematography by Greig Fraser. I would be remiss, though, if I did not bring up the score by Hans Zimmer. This was such a pet project for the composer that he left his fruitful collaboration with Christopher Nolan to work on the film. There are a lot of different, familiar musical sounds and styles in his score, which also really channels the more emotional and evocative parts of scores such as “Gladiator” and “The Thin Red Line.” As a hard core fan of his work, I cannot really say that it’s in my Top 3-5 of his work yet (multiple listens might reveal otherwise), but one can hear the passion he brought to the score, and it aids the film immensely in delivering some emotional connection to the audience.
“Dune: Part One” feels like an ambitious introduction to a world with no payoff. That is part of the issue the film has- while it lands at an obvious ending point, it also feels like it stops abruptly halfway into its story rather than having a strong emotional conclusion for audiences to grasp on to. It doesn’t feel complete. That doesn’t help when you’re banking on audience sentiment and reaction to help assure the second part of the story gets made.
