Dune is a property that I struggle with. There are things about it I find fascinating and completely engaging but there are parts of it that I find difficult to wrestle with. I have a complex relationship with both the previous major adaptations, David Lynch's famously bizarre and hacked apart 80s film and the bland but faithful 2000 miniseries. I feel both films fumble the problematic aspects of Dune and my hope was that this try, by earnest fan Villeneuve, in an age where we may look at a lot of issues differently than we did in the novel's release period, or the times the previous movies were made, would perhaps take what was great about Dune and wrestle with the difficult aspects in a satisfying way. Mostly I think Villeneuve has done that. Villeneuve has made a stunning film that is close to but not quite a masterpiece and he has perhaps finally cracked what it takes to bring Dune properly and successfully to the big screen.
Dune has all the qualities that come to mind with the word Epic. It is a gorgeous, complex film that fully engages you without pandering to the lowest common denominator. It has a strong cast that is up to the task of fleshing out a full range of characters who each get to be alive and fully realized. It is simply a massive scope which builds worlds, universes, effectively within a narrative without having to be pulled out of the story to understand where we are and where these characters have come from. There was a small bit of narration in the beginning that had me worried the film was going to make the mistake of previous adaptations and just have someone explain history to us. But the film eschews that mostly for organically finding ways to get us into these worlds as if we had always been there.
Dune has a lot going on in terms of plot and once again Villeneuve has mastered how to fit it all in without rushing and still pacing his film to be gripping throughout. I never wanted to leave my seat the film had me so firmly in its clutches. It is not mindless, in fact it asks a lot of its audience to consider the political, emotional, and personal motivations and effects swirling around these characters. Villeneuve has throughly integrated all aspects of his story into this film so that it all just can be experienced. I immediately wanted to see it again to take in all the layers and experience all the complexities of the story. There is much here to be lived only in one viewing.
But he doesn't solve every problem. The film full on jettisons the queer coding that is so horrible in the source material and which has plagued previous adaptations which I think is the right way to go. Little to nothing was gained from Baron Harkonnen's predatory queerness and having him presented differently in fact made him feel more menacing. Villeneuve also tackles some of the source material's misogyny through diversifying the roles of women in the story. I especially appreciated the gender swapped Dr. Liet-Kynes who provides an alternative to how women are generally portrayed in the story.
But most importantly is how this adaptation centres Dune's inherent "white-saviour" problem. Previous adaptations have truly struggled to not present Paul as the saviour of the indigenous people of Arakkis, especially since the first novel's narrative tends to position him as such even if that might be examined in more depth later in the book series. But Villeneuve has subtly and expertly found ways to undermine this as Chalamet's Paul isn't securely in a position to ever appear to be saving anyone. In fact it feels here more like the Fremen are saving him. The difficulty will come in Dune Part Two when he leads them in their resistance. I hope he can manage to continue to examine this trope critically as his story moves forward.
The move doesn't get full points though. It still relies on Baron Harkonnen being large and physically repulsive to build our distaste for him. This fatphobic approach is written into the source material and always is upsetting to see. I worry this film leans into it, moving away from the ableist villainizing of him that has often been done and relying almost completely on his size and his eating as the symbol of his evil. I had hoped they could move away from this as well.
I guess we can't have everything. But what we are left with remains epic and amazing. This is the sort of experience that will leave audiences breathless at the end. And his choice to tell only the first part of the novel's story is not only smart due to what it allows him to do to effectively tell the story so well it also makes us hyper excited for Part Two. They won't be able to make it fast enough.
He has left out characters like the Emperor and his daughter, the other Harkonnen nephew and more. This works due to how little those characters would have contributed to this chapter of the narrative and allows us to focus on those characters that are here for this part of the story. It will also allow him to truly develop those characters as needed when their time to shine comes. Many may be surprised to see how little Zendeya is in the film but again she is here to build to the next part.
So while I might still nit pick a few things, over all Dune: Part One was a stunning achievement and a beautiful film that I know I will appreciate for years to come and devour many times, finding more to ruminate on with subsequent viewings. See it on a big screen as it is an epic motion picture in every way.
Dune
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellen Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Mamoa, Javier Bardem, Babs Olusanmokun
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writers: Joe Spaihts, Eric Roth, Denis Villeneuve
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