Review: Dune (2021)
An amazing film in and of itself, and a (really) good adaptation.
Ignoring for a moment the books I read to my children before bedtime, Dune is easily my most read book of all time. To say I like it would be like saying Ahab didn’t particularly care for that one whale. Luckily, Villeneuve’s Dune is a loving adaptation made with great care, which shines through in every aspect of the film, from its absolutely gorgeous design to its intense score. Is it perfect? Well, no. But I’m fairly certain most of my gripes come from it not matching my own internalized version perfectly, which isn’t exactly giving it a fair shake. And to be honest, just as often the movie is better than the one in my mind…
Dune, set in the 24th millenium, follows Paul (Timothée Chalamet), heir to the house Atreides as his father, duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) is given the fief of the planet Arrakis, known as Dune, by the emperor. Dune is the only known source of spice in the universe, a psychotropic substance that prolongs life and is necessary for interstellar travel (the 60’s were wild, man). The previous owners of Arrakis were the House Harkonnen, ancient enemies of the Atreides. So, yeah, shit is about to go down. While the Harkonnen are clearly bad, even evil, the movie doesn’t shy away from coding the Atreides as quasi-fascists themselves. The future isn’t a pretty place and, despite a code of honor, the Atreides hold power in a (feudal) system that creates exorbitant wealth at the expense of everyone below them. Huh, topical.
The movie does a lot of things very right. The design is finger licking good, especially the ornithopthers and the spaceships are on point; who knew carpet could make a spaceship better? But the costume design also shines, even if there’s the occasional odd choice. Does Chani (an underused but excellent Zendaya) wear flip-flops? Yes, yes she does. But what permeates everything is that the movie takes itself very seriously. The very occasional joke only serves to underscore the grim nature of this universe. This, coupled with the fact that it is clearly only the first part of a larger story, might turn some people off. Are those people wrong? Well, nothing is for everyone and tastes do differ, and the final scene is indeed slightly jarring, but yes, objectively they are not right.
My main problem with the movie is the portrayal of the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), Paul’s mother and a woman who has been trained from a young age to have maximum control over both her mind and her body. Despite this, she spends almost half of her screentime as a barely held together emotional wreck. Admittedly she has reasons enough, but a little composure would have been more in line with her character. Would I have the same gripe if I didn’t occasionally quote the book in my day to day life? Well, seeing as Jessica is the only female main character, it’s quite possible.
In translating a book to the screen, it is inevitable that some things fall to the wayside. And internal monologue, of which the novel has a lot, is especially tricky. While I’m not overly fond of the wheezing voice in Paul’s visions, I can live with it. Even the occasional missing key sentence from the book is not really a dealbreaker (“Tell me of the waters of your homeworld, Usul.”). And I’m prepared to overlook the one scene which, very weirdly, hints at sexual tension, or at least bodily uneasiness, between Paul and his mother, neither of which should be there at all. But I draw the line at being told the stillsuits only recycle the wearer’s sweat! They recycle urine and feces as well, and a good thing too! Or do you think you can limit lost water to a thimble a day in the deep desert if you’re just going to piss down a dune every now and then?!
Ahum, anyway. Dune is as great an adaptation as I could have hoped for. You should definitely watch it in the cinema if you are able, but do not worry, I’m sure that when part 2 comes out, it will be shown back to back with this one.
I’d love to ramble on about this movie, and the book, and which scenes were done so very well, and which elements were only half put in, and which characters got criminally underserved (goodbye, Piter De Vries, whose name never even got spoken). But as the good book says: ‘Do not be trapped by the need to achieve anything. This way, you achieve everything.’
I’ll just go watch it again.
