Based on actual events with World War 2 looming on the horizon, there's much to admire in 'The Dig' - acting and cinematography in particular. The opening sequence tells how a widow commissions a local working class archeology enthusiast called Basil Brown to excavate several mysterious mounds on her property. Sadly, the film short-changes the achievements of this accomplished amateur, just as self-interested academics had done seventy years beforehand.
After some significant artifacts are unearthed, the narrative subsequently shows how a pompous bigwig from London's British Museum arrives to muscle Brown out of the project's driving seat. A collection of colorful characters engaged in various intrigues while making momentous discoveries should have provided more than enough dramatic interest. Unfortunately the screenwriters appeared unable to find sufficient substance in the archeological affairs to sustain a feature film - and invented a tepid romance to flesh out the proceedings. This minor sub-plot provides little more than distraction and the story loses its way. If the script had probed a little deeper into the core material, complemented by a background of the beautiful East Anglian scenery, an impending worldwide catastrophe and ancient mysteries, the result would have surely been far more memorable.
After some significant artifacts are unearthed, the narrative subsequently shows how a pompous bigwig from London's British Museum arrives to muscle Brown out of the project's driving seat. A collection of colorful characters engaged in various intrigues while making momentous discoveries should have provided more than enough dramatic interest. Unfortunately the screenwriters appeared unable to find sufficient substance in the archeological affairs to sustain a feature film - and invented a tepid romance to flesh out the proceedings. This minor sub-plot provides little more than distraction and the story loses its way. If the script had probed a little deeper into the core material, complemented by a background of the beautiful East Anglian scenery, an impending worldwide catastrophe and ancient mysteries, the result would have surely been far more memorable.