Dune

The Doctor’s Diagnosis: C

               One of my favorite podcasts (The Projection Booth) described this film as “dour and joyless.” I would just stop there if it wasn’t for the arbitrary length requirements that I’ve set for these reviews.

               For the uninitiated, Dune is an adaptationof Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel that has become the best-selling science fiction novel of all time. It’s basically the science fiction equivalent of Lord of the Rings in terms of popularity and influence within its genre. The novel was considered unfilmable, but that didn’t stop several failed attempts to adapt it (perhaps most notably by Ridley Scott) before David Lynch finally directed the first Dune film in 1984. That was a box office failure and has the distinction of being both really bizarre and the most normal movie that Lynch ever made.

               Dune is set in the very far future and revolves around a political struggle to control the most important resource in the universe, which is called spice. Timothée Chalamet plays Paul Atreides, the heir to the throne of the political body/family called House Atreides. The Emperor has chosen House Atreides to take over stewardship of the desert planet that serves as the universe’s supplier of spice, which pisses off the previous stewards, House Harkonnen. Battles and political sabotage then ensue, basically making the story a thinly-veiled cautionary tale about limited ecological resources. Also, the desert is home to massive sandworms called Shai Hulud, which I assume are the inspiration for the sandworms in Tremors and Beetlejuice and inspired the name of a hardcore band from the 90s that I’ve been wondering about for thirty years.

               I haven’t read the novel, but I have seen Lynch’s film and it strikes me that comparing Lynch’s 1984 version with Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 version is much like comparing the two time periods as a whole. Lynch’s film is fucking bizarre and sometimes borderline incomprehensible. The 1984 Dune tried to compress the entire novel into 137 minutes, resulting in a break-neck speed and a film that’s clearly sacrificing plot for brevity. Despite that serious shortcoming, it’s an entertaining movie with bizarre visuals and even more bizarre characters.

               In direct contrast, the 2021 version only covers the first half of the novel and somehow takes longer to do it, clocking in at a needlessly painful 155 minutes. The film also lacks Lynch’s flair for the strange, abandoning the colorful oddities of the 1984 film for a sterile environment and characters that barely seem to stay awake for the proceedings. This version is more accessible and makes a lot more sense, but takes itself so seriously that it is a less entertaining experience than its predecessor. As Lynch’s version reflects the colorful, zany and cocaine-fueled 80s, Villeneuve’s reflects the cynical, restrained 2020s. I’ll take the 80s.

               That’s not to say that the film isn’t a technical marvel. The scale is epic and the landscapes stretch for miles in a way almost reminiscent of the widescreen epics of the 1960s. On the downside, it’s one of the most visually bland epics I’ve ever seen. The entire film looks like it is being screened through a grey filter, making grand scenery about as exciting to look at as a hospital hallway. For all of the talent involved and all of the money at their disposal, Dune is a drab affair that seems to mock anyone that attempts to derive enjoyment from it.

               The actors sure as hell don’t seem to be enjoying anything. People in comas are more lively than the characters in this movie. Considering the talent involved, this must have been a conscious artistic choice and it’s a baffling one. Timothée Chalamet is particularly painful to watch; I would say that he is sleepwalking through the role, but that may be underestimating the alertness of sleepwalkers. He deals with assassination attempts and giant sand worms with the expressions and mannerisms of a man that’s slightly annoyed at the DMV. Josh Brolin and Rebecca Ferguson are similarly just kind of there, with Brolin doing his normal tough-guy schtick and Ferguson looking like she is desperately waiting for a stage direction other than “look sad.” The one somewhat bright spot, and the only person that seems to one having any fun, is the always great Stellan Skarsgård as the Baron. He doesn’t get much screen time, but chews as much scenery as he can in the time that he’s given. I guess he wasn’t around when the rest of the cast was given their daily cocktail of NyQuil and Xanax.

               Dune is an odd experience because it looks epic, but feels small because there is never any emotion involved. It’s like if The Empire Strikes Back was narrated by Ben Stein; all of the story elements are there, but it doesn’t sound like anybody is interested in them. Despite its technical achievements and cohesive story, I would still recommend the bonkers 1984 version over this. You may not fully understand what’s happening, but you won’t be bored.

Image By: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(2021_film)#/media/File:Dune_(2021_film).jpg