The conventional wisdom is that he might find artifacts from Vikings. The local museum takes an interest, but not much at first. Both of them are no-nonsense types, literally willing to get their hands dirty.Įdith’s young son Robert (Archie Barnes) hits it off with Basil who, along with some of Edith’s servants she’s lent out for the job, begins work. He may not have a degree, but he’s confident in his expertise. The first part of the movie, written by Moira Buffini and based on the historical novel by John Preston, establishes the relationship between Edith and Basil. He sets out to find out just what the mounds are and, more important, what’s buried beneath them. Basil is a self-taught excavator who has worked on some big digs.
They’re thought to have some sort of historic significance she hires Basil Brown (Fiennes, working in secret-genius bumpkin mode). But the movie will have more impact if you do your research after the fact.Įdith Pretty (Mulligan) is a wealthy widow on whose land sits a number of mounds. History shouldn’t come with spoiler alerts. A way of life, maybe, or at least a greater appreciation of it and its impermanence.Ī word of warning: This may sound like a strange thing to say about a movie about famous artifacts, but the less you know about the excavation of Sutton Hoo going in, the better. If World War I was the end of innocence, this feels like the end of something, too. And since this evidently isn’t enough, some romance gets tacked on, as well.
It takes place just as England is entering World War II, so there’s that, too. Simon Stone’s film, about a famous archaeological discovery has an excellent cast, led by Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes and Lily James, all in top form. For a movie about an archaeological excavation, “The Dig” certainly has a lot of unearthing to do.
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