As WWII looms, a wealthy widow hires an amateur archaeologist to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of Britain's past resonate in the face of its uncertain future.
"Nothing stays lost forever."
Top Billed Cast
Carey Mulligan
Edith Pretty
Ralph Fiennes
Basil Brown
Lily James
Peggy Piggott
Johnny Flynn
Rory Lomax
Ben Chaplin
Stuart Piggott
Ken Stott
Charles Phillips
Archie Barnes
Robert Pretty
Monica Dolan
May Brown
Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews
M Manuel São BentoVerified TMDB Critic
2021-07-15
Before watching this film, I had absolutely no idea who Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes), Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan), or even Peggy Piggott (Lily James) were and what they did. As an engineer and a science enthusiast myself, I rarely struggle to find some sort of enjoyment in movies based on true stories about scientific discoveries, technological advancements, or impactful historical events. Therefore, despite a premise that doesn't immediately catch my attention, Simon Stone does a wonderful job in making this film quite interesting.
Mike Eley's cinematography produces some of the most gorg...
P Peter McGinnVerified TMDB Critic
2021-08-05
The Dig reminded me of another movie about archaeology and which was not only also based on a true story but also involved a woman’s contribution to that scientific field. That other movie was Ammonite, about a woman archaeologist in a time when women were more than rare in that field of endeavor.
Unlike that character, however, Edith Pretty in The Dig does not do the work herself. Instead, her interest in archaeology and curiosity about the mounds on her property leads her to hire Basil Brown, a self-trained archaeologist, or “excavator,” as he refers to himself in the film.
