‘The Dig’ is a compelling look at what the past can tell us about the future

Posted on February 12, 2021

By MARK VIOLA

I think a lot of us have at one time or another considered becoming an archaeologist, usually after watching “Raiders of the Lost Ark” for the first time. I even took an archaeology class my first semester in college, and one of the first things my professor told us was how few people who graduate with the degree actually get a job.

Although I didn’t pursue the career, I’ve always been a student of history, and as such, I was intrigued by the new film “The Dig,” based on the book by John Preston, which in turn is a dramatization of the real events surrounding the Sutton Hoo excavation in England in 1938, a find that radically changed the accepted belief about the early history of the island.

Although the movie states it is “based on real events,” it does play a little fast and loose with the details and characterizations, but the result is surprisingly compelling, as long as a two-hour movie about people digging in the dirt sounds interesting to you.

On that point, I’m mostly kidding, because the screenplay by Moira Buffini (“Harlots”) does an admirable job connecting the archaeological find with both the characters’ personal stories, as well as the greater looming threat of World War II. Ultimately, it is story about discovery, but also one about what we leave behind, both as individuals and as a society.

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