Period dramas aren’t really my sort of thing but when I saw this and found out it was a true story I had to watch it, and I really enjoyed it.

The Dig follows the true story of a woman called Edith Pretty who owns a home and lives with her son after her husband unfortunately passed away. She has these mounds on the grounds of her home and she hires an archaeologist called Basil Brown to come and dig them up to see what’s beneath them.

This is where they uncover a treasure trove of Anglo-Saxon pieces that get even the British Museum interested. It’s a brilliant tale of intrigue and history that is set in a time just before World War II where everyone is kind of in the middle of patiently waiting for the next bomb to blow.

The one thing that I read about this movie is the portrayal of Edith Pretty and how she was a 56-year-old woman yet the actress who plays her is 35. I won’t lie, this did throw me off when I googled Edith Pretty and saw how much older she was in real life. In the movie she has a heart issue which, if she was the actresses age of 35, would be incredibly sad to have to deal with but knowing she was older than that makes the issue seem less of a big problem. I don’t really understand what the casting choice was, I feel in some ways if Edith had been older yet still had such a young son and was a widower it could’ve held more weight to the story than what it actually did.

I won’t lie, having such a young actress playing Edith I did in some ways wonder if they were trying to create a romance between her and Basil, which I would’ve been completely against. It was very strange and did make me feel a bit uncomfortable, whereas if they had got an older actress to play her maybe the friendship would’ve been more there and there wouldn’t have been such a romantic inkling between them.

I did find it a fascinating movie to watch and it was very heart warming and sweet. It was one of those films you could watch and then do a bit of a Google to find out more and suddenly you’re so much more well knowledged in what happened and can just carry on with your life with this knowledge to maybe pass on to other people.

The story was great. The way it ended with World War II beginning and England going to fight was heartbreaking because it made you think of all these characters that you have been watching and growing attached to and what they’ll be going through in the next few years. Especially Edith‘s cousin who had joined the RAF.

I really do recommend this movie. It’s a perfect Sunday viewing when it’s a bit rainy outside and you haven’t got anything else to watch. It’s a simple story that really lets you connect with the characters and will definitely make you want to google the true story once you’re done.

What do you think of The Dig?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding