Fiennes, Mulligan finds treasures in ‘The Dig’

.

Based on the book by John Preston, the Netflix film, released on Friday, tells the story of the archaeological discovery of Sutton Hoo in 1939, described by the National Trust for Britain as a discovery “that would change our understanding of Early England ”.

Set at the start of World War II, it follows Edith Pretty, a widowed landowner in eastern Suffolk county, as she hires amateur archaeologist Basil Brown, played by Fiennes, to dig a cemetery on the her building which is suspected to be a Viking cemetery.

Instead, Brown found a 27-meter-long Anglo-Saxon boat with a treasure chamber.

Mulligan, best known for “Far From the Madding Crowd” and “The Great Gatsby”, said she had not been looking for another time drama role but was moved by the script and was willing to working with actor “Schindler’s List” Fiennes.

That came with great concern. In one scene, Brown is buried in thick mud when a ditch he is digging falls. Pretty, played by Mulligan, uses his bare hands to dig it out.

“(I felt) horror. Ralph didn’t want to use a stuntman, which I totally get, but that left me with the horrible task of trying to stop him from suffocating, “Mulligan told Reuters.

“I was over his face. I felt like I had been above any other part of his body, I would be fine. But I kept saying to (director) Simon (Stone), try not to control my mouth … I’m going to kill him and he can’t breathe. So it was horrible. ”

Fiennes came out unbeaten.

Adding to the truth, Stone asked the crew to bury fake treasures to find the excitement surrounding the real find.

“We buried the treasure they found and hid it … And so they went in search of treasure,” he said. “It took hours and we were just rolling and rolling and rolling and sometimes there would be long times where no one would find anything. ”

In fact Fiennes discovered medieval pottery while excavating outside London.

“It was like a bit of clay,” he said, adding that he hoped audiences would be inspired by the details of the film.

“We live in a world of mass production … some of these treasures (Sutton Hoo) … are amazing pieces of craft. And that is surprising. ”