(“If a thousand years were to pass in an instance, what would be left of us?” asks one character in a moment of blistering melancholy.)

It’s here that the film’s driving force switches from those chats over a single shovel to a more metaphorical exercise about uncovering buried feelings. The initial work done by Brown and Edith’s cousin Rory (Johnny Flynn, continuing his post-“Emma.” charm tour) soon draws the attention of the local professional anthropologists.Īs different forces become interested in the work at the Sutton Hoo dig, the project becomes a series of navigating tiny gatekeeping hurdles: who is allowed to participate, where various fragments are stored, and where those remnants may find a permanent home. It’s when the film begins to stray from that core relationship, the slight blurring of lines between a woman of means and her hired excavator, that “The Dig” starts to lose some focus and potency.

Their conversations about the idea of owning history and who has the right to claim credit for its discovery are as much about digging for the truth inside each other as what’s in the ground underneath them. In some ways, it’s not until the film shifts its gaze to those newcomers that you realize how much depth comes from Edith and Brown’s simple working relationship at the outset. It’s a testament to Mulligan’s screen presence that Edith feels like an integral part of this process, even as her actual role never goes far beyond “understanding benefactor.” Edith endures her own private physical and emotional battles away from the digging site, while a small crew gradually arrives to take over the lion’s share of the digging duties. In time, his efforts draw both the goodwill of Edith and her son Robert (Archie Barnes). He may not have institutional training, but Brown quickly proves he has both the streetwise knowledge of antiquities looters’ methods and enough historical wherewithal to assess the first fruits of his solo shoveling. In “The Dig,” Edith enlists the help of local amateur archaeology enthusiast Basil Brown ( Ralph Fiennes) to see what might be underneath those prominent lumps of earth on her estate. ‘Downtown Owl’ Review: Lily Rabe Turns Anti-Hero in Puzzling Chuck Klosterman Adaptation

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