Explosive
Summary
Before Dawn is a harrowing war epic with a memorable lead in Levi Miller and plenty of battle scenes to keep viewers engaged. It also provides some history of Australia’s involvement in the war which some may not have known about previously.
Plot: A young man joins his countrymen on the Western front of World War I, hoping to expedite an end to the bloody conflict. However, as the battle rages on, he’s forced to grapple with the brutal realities of trench warfare, including a near-constant struggle to keep himself alive without leaving another man behind.
Review: Before Dawn is the moving story of a group of young as they leave their homeland of Australia to go fight at the Somme in World War 1. It is co-written and directed by Jordon Prince-Wright and this appears to be a passion project for him and it really captures the horrors of war especially in how it affects the people who fought in it.
Our main protagonist Jim (Levi Miller) starts off working on his ranch in Australia with his father; when Jim’s friends decide they want to join the war, Jim wants to go with them much to his father’s dismay. Jim is stubborn at first, but he soon realizes that war is Hell and that he and his friends could be killed at any time.
Before Dawn may not have a massive budget, but it still has some impressive battle scenes with some huge explosions; one apparently was so big it caused 2.8 on the Richter scale.
At 100 minutes long the film mostly moves at a decent pace as we follow our lead Jim through various battles as he loses comrades. I found the film especially affecting because my great grandfather was killed at the Somme, so I’m aware of how horrendous it was.
The performances are generally strong, but I did find that Jim was the only character that really stuck with me aside from maybe the Sergeant.
Overall, Before Dawn is a harrowing and moving war epic which captures the horrors of World War 1, but also the comradery that would get people through the living nightmare. In terms of action there are plenty of battle scenes and explosions to make it an engaging watch.