When The Dig first came out, I read a tepid review about it in the Washington Post. Recently, I’ve caused Bruce to suffer through a serious of angsty, morose, head banging art films. Worrying that the The Dig would fit into that category, I decided to pass. However, positive comments by a few friends led me to take a second look and I’m glad I did.

Last night, after a week of watching the impeachment trial, I desperately needed to transport my brain to another place and another time. My soul needed cleansing. I needed a restorative viewing experience. I needed a story about a small group of people, against all odds, choosing to take the moral high ground. This film fit the bill.

Based on a true story, the movie is about a wealthy British widow who hires a local man to excavate ancient mounds on her estate in Suffolk, England. She believes there are archaeological treasures hidden beneath. Yet, as viewers get to know the widow better, they realize her goal is not to acquire more wealth. Instead, she has a much more interesting and poignant quest. Part of the beauty of this movie is how the plot unfolds in a gentle, nuanced way. So, I’m not going to ruin your viewing experience by giving you more details.

Ralph Fiennes plays Basil Brown, the excavator. Although not formally educated, his command of archeology, science and history is broad and deep. Yet, he is not pretentious. Carey Mulligan plays Edith Pretty, the wealthy widow. Her onscreen presence is mesmerizing. They both deliver gorgeous, understated performances. Moreover, each of their characters is filled with integrity, providing a welcome break for my soul. Edith Pretty has a young son, maybe he’s ten. At first, the boy’s over the top performance felt jarring, but by the end of the film, he grew on me.

One quirky aspect of the movie is that the scene transitions are strange. As a viewer you are watching one scene, but before you visually move to the next scene, you hear a sentence or two from that next scene. Once I got used to the technique, I found it fascinating.

The cinematography melds well with the overall tone of the movie. The scenes of the countryside, the fields and sky and water and birds, are lovely in a muted way. If I were to paint them, I’d use ochre, burnt umber, sap green, Payne’s gray and Prussian blue.

Set in Suffolk, England just before the start of World War II, the film felt suffused with a low level of anxiety. Will Great Britain be at war? Will lives be lost? What horrible trials lay right around the corner? Yet, Basil Brown and Edith Pretty push forward with the task at hand. All in all, I highly recommend this movie.