Dunes most frustrating plot device is also its smartest

Date:
Mon, 25 Oct 2021 13:43:27 +0000

Description:
Villeneuve uses Pauls dreams as a plot device, but also to tease his sequel.

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Warning: Spoilers follow for Dune

As youll likely have heard by now, Denis Villeneuves Dune comes to a rather abrupt end.

It was always known that the director would shoot his thunderous adaptation
of Frank Herberts sci-fi novel in two parts. But seeing this lack of finality
and arguably, drama play out in the duologys introductory instalment might come off as disappointing, especially to those who had looked forward to Dune with inevitably ill-fated levels of expectation.

By the same token, though, there is no other way I, for one, would rather
have seen Villeneuve tell this tale. To those unfamiliar with the source material, which the director so meticulously adheres to throughout the film's 150-minute runtime, Dune is an intimidatingly dense story of familial upheaval, political tension and theological prophecy. In practical terms,
that means it's a 20-hour audiobook, or a novel you probably wouldnt get around to finishing on a week-long holiday. Check out our spoiler-free review of Dune Denis Villeneuve on bringing Frank Herberts sci-fi epic to life This is how to watch Dune online

As such, Villeneuve only agreed to dramatize his version of Dune if he was permitted to do so across two films with the first laying the groundwork for a more comprehensible, exciting second. By necessity, then, Dune: Part One occasionally suffers under the weight of its expository responsibility.

But Villeneuve knows this. He loves this material like a Bible, and does exceptionally well to delve into Herberts complex lore and religious
ramblings in a way that never seems inaccessible. Soundtrack and sandworms aside, Dune is far from standard blockbuster fare, and though its lack of dramatic tension means it isnt the standalone sci-fi spectacular many
expected it to be, the director uses a particular plot device to hint that Dune: Part 2 will deliver on that promise Pauls dreams. (Image credit:
Warner Bros.)

Villeneuve not only employs his protagonists (perhaps overly frequent)
visions as a narrative tool throughout the film proof of Pauls role as the messianic "Muad'Dib" but also as a means of teasing Dunes sequel. He dangles the most exciting parts of Herbert's novel in front of his audience while acknowledging that hes not yet able to showcase these sequences this early in the story.

In such moments, Villeneuve is basically saying, Look, guys, this is the
movie you thought you were about to see, but come back in two years and youll get it.

And you know what? Thats actually okay. Sure, it was frustrating to discover that certain dramatic set-pieces teased in the trailers (the giant desert battle, for instance) remain teases (read: visions) in the film itself, but
at least they're evidence that Villeneuves hyper-faithful adaptation will crank up the action in an as-yet-uncommissioned follow-up.

Pauls dreams are my dreams for what Villeneuves Dune would turn out to be
when he attached himself to the project back in 2016. And since they prophesize the events of its sequel, almost as if the director has already shot it, I am more than happy to stomach the abrupt half time whistle and
look forward to Dune: Part 2 with anticipation equal to the first. Image 1 of 2 These dream scenes, for instance, tease sequences from a future Dune movie (Image credit: Warner Bros.) Image 2 of 2 These dream scenes, for instance, tease sequences from a future Dune movie (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Its difficult to know whether the effect of these cinematic breadcrumbs is
the same to those unfamiliar with the rest of the novels story. I watched the movie with friends who were (and still are) entirely unaware of how Dune
plays out in its entirety, so its no surprise that some felt cheated by Villeneuves unapologetic halting of proceedings.

Perhaps if Dune was more obviously marketed as Part 1 of a two-part story, those cinemagoers who hadnt immersed themselves in its press tour prior to viewing might not feel so short-changed by its lack of finality.

But Jason Momoas Duncan Idaho offers a telling epigram for the directors
hopes of a sequel early on in the movie. His line dreams make good stories is intended to ease Pauls mind, though it also rather sums up Villeneuves approach to hooking his audience on an even better film he cant yet make.

Its Zendayas Chani, however, who gets the most unmistakably direct (and very last) piece of dialogue in Dunes two-and-a-half-hour runtime. This is only
the beginning, she tells us which is absolutely true of this sprawling
story, and hopefully Villeneuves stewardship of it.

Dune is now streaming on HBO Max in the US Check out the best movies on HBO Max



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