Harry Styles has made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, and it's quite the first impression. Despite having no real acting experience, the singer has impressed critics and fans alike with his stirring performance in the intense war drama, but there's one question about his role that's nagging One Directioners who've yet to see the film: does Harry Styles die in Dunkirk? It's a fair question, after all. This is a brutal World War II movie that's filled with death, and a brief scene in the trailer shows him struggling under water. So, does his character survive or not? Spoilers ahead!
Everybody can breathe a big sigh of relief. Harry Styles' character makes it out of Dunkirk alive. The movie tells the true story of the Dunkirk evacuation, when over 300,000 allied soldiers were successfully rescued from Dunkirk beach in France after they had become stranded and surrounded by enemy forces. Styles plays a British army private named Alex in the film, and while he ultimately makes it off the beach alive, he definitely doesn't have an easy go of things before doing so. Alex is on a ship that gets torpedoed and has to struggle through being shot at, nearly drowning, and living in constant fear. But he manages to survive along with thousands of other soldiers.
Alex spends about a week on the beach at Dunkirk before rescue finally arrives, and in that time, he dodges death countless times. After being rescued, Alex and some other soldiers are able to read about themselves in the newspaper on a train on their way home. The mood is jovial compared to the rest of the movie, as Alex even enjoys a celebratory beverage on the train (you may have seen leaked images floating around online of Styles chugging a beer while hanging out of a train window — that's this scene).
Alex's story, and the story of the other young soldiers with him, form the core of the film's narrative, and it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying if he didn't make it out alive to presumably become a pop star in the future. I'm just assuming that's what happens to Alex after the cameras stop rolling, but the important thing to take away from all this is that he survives.
