This 2018 British wartime drama is directed by Joe Wright and stars Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James and Ronald Pickup.
May, 1940. Britain and France battle the forces of Nazi Germany in the early years of World War II. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Pickup) stands down in the wake of the war and his poor leadership, and a fellow Conservative MP is chosen to take this place; First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill (Oldman).
Sworn in by King George VI (Mendelsohn) who has little faith in Churchill, the new Prime Minister forms a war cabinet and includes Chamberlain to tackle the Nazi threat. With his closest aides even doubting his ability to pull the United Kingdom out of war, Churchil’s first major decision will be what best to do at Dunkirk.
With the support of wife Clementine (Thomas) and personal secretary Elizabeth Layton (James), Churchill must convince King George and his cabinet that there should be no surrender, and that fighting the forces of evil with everything the Allies have will be the only way to secure victory...
One of the first films that launches the 2018 awards season, so you know what to expect. Hard hitting topics that pertain to real life, performances from actors that transcend just putting on a wig and giving their all; this brings together a character that represents everything patriotic about the United Kingdom set in an era that defined the United Kingdom.
To that extent, it’s a home-grown winner from the off. And with a performance by Gary Oldman that transcends said wig and prosthetics as Winston Churchill himself, he is an actor capable of becoming a character that you can look at and hear and forget it’s Oldman himself. Without him leading this film, it would however be your run-of-the mill British family-friendly war-time drama we’ve seen so many times before.
With the focus only on one month of Churchill’s 5 year turn as Prime Minster, you can’t expect a biopic. This isn’t. This is a glimpse into a defining part of British history and the war that changed our world, and he happens to be the man in charge as it played out. Much of it is crafted in the same mould as ‘Their Finest’, ‘Dunkirk’ ‘and even ‘The Imitation Game’ for that British look and feel.
London under the cloud of war, small villages where nobody’s leave to become somebody’s, and men in smart suits and women in floral dresses. It’s that classic 1940s interpretation of a family-friendly view of the war in which ‘Darkest Hour’ is set, and it offers nothing new in that respect. We have sections of the film seen by all classes, from labourers to royalty, so the view of the people is never lost here.
One little factor to favour is there is no actual war in this, which is nice. We get a fleeting glimpse of fighters over war-torn France for a few moments, but there is nothing of any war on show here. This is a war we see from the comfort of home-soil, but it’s not without the stresses and drama and emotional strain for those involved fighting with words and politics rather than rifles and tanks. But, again, it’s been done before. We know the outcome, but we’ve seen so many versions of similar things that it really depends on the calibre selling it to us that makes a difference.
Thankfully, if the story may be a little thin on the ground and pacing a little weak, it’s held together by a top cast. Ben Mendelsohn is near perfect as King George VI, wrestling with doing the right thing for not just his country but also his family. Kristin Scott Thomas is the sharp talking but always loving wife Clementine and sweet Lily James is the voice of reason and one who cracks Churchill’s shell as personal secretary Elizabeth Layton.
Of course they all play second fiddle to Gary Oldman, but they all have those key factors that shape Churchill from the man he was, to who he is, to who he will become. It’s this that is the meat of the 2hr film in seeing him overcome personal doubt from his own war cabinet in the choices and attitude he has to see them stand and cheer and applaud as he finally declares “we shall fight them on the beaches†- and yes, the events at Dunkirk play a key moment in the film, but we don’t see much to rival, challenge or question that of Christopher Nolan’s film.
Don’t worry, the film isn’t crammed with patriotic in-your-face propaganda and a soaring soundtrack; it’s done in a very real and minimal so when we finally reach the climax that defines who Churchill was to many, it’s a journey that feels very natural and not overly dramatic. It’s just a shame as the films finds it’s footing and we find our comfortable leads, it comes to and end.
Gary Oldman does deserve the praise and applaud, because he pretty much carries the film and becomes a British icon. Yet if you removed him and his performance, it’s possible this would simply be another Sunday BBC feature long drama. If you want something to really stir the senses and give you a swell of “Rule Britannia†then you’ll be better of sticking with Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’.
May, 1940. Britain and France battle the forces of Nazi Germany in the early years of World War II. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Pickup) stands down in the wake of the war and his poor leadership, and a fellow Conservative MP is chosen to take this place; First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill (Oldman).
Sworn in by King George VI (Mendelsohn) who has little faith in Churchill, the new Prime Minister forms a war cabinet and includes Chamberlain to tackle the Nazi threat. With his closest aides even doubting his ability to pull the United Kingdom out of war, Churchil’s first major decision will be what best to do at Dunkirk.
With the support of wife Clementine (Thomas) and personal secretary Elizabeth Layton (James), Churchill must convince King George and his cabinet that there should be no surrender, and that fighting the forces of evil with everything the Allies have will be the only way to secure victory...
One of the first films that launches the 2018 awards season, so you know what to expect. Hard hitting topics that pertain to real life, performances from actors that transcend just putting on a wig and giving their all; this brings together a character that represents everything patriotic about the United Kingdom set in an era that defined the United Kingdom.
To that extent, it’s a home-grown winner from the off. And with a performance by Gary Oldman that transcends said wig and prosthetics as Winston Churchill himself, he is an actor capable of becoming a character that you can look at and hear and forget it’s Oldman himself. Without him leading this film, it would however be your run-of-the mill British family-friendly war-time drama we’ve seen so many times before.
With the focus only on one month of Churchill’s 5 year turn as Prime Minster, you can’t expect a biopic. This isn’t. This is a glimpse into a defining part of British history and the war that changed our world, and he happens to be the man in charge as it played out. Much of it is crafted in the same mould as ‘Their Finest’, ‘Dunkirk’ ‘and even ‘The Imitation Game’ for that British look and feel.
London under the cloud of war, small villages where nobody’s leave to become somebody’s, and men in smart suits and women in floral dresses. It’s that classic 1940s interpretation of a family-friendly view of the war in which ‘Darkest Hour’ is set, and it offers nothing new in that respect. We have sections of the film seen by all classes, from labourers to royalty, so the view of the people is never lost here.
One little factor to favour is there is no actual war in this, which is nice. We get a fleeting glimpse of fighters over war-torn France for a few moments, but there is nothing of any war on show here. This is a war we see from the comfort of home-soil, but it’s not without the stresses and drama and emotional strain for those involved fighting with words and politics rather than rifles and tanks. But, again, it’s been done before. We know the outcome, but we’ve seen so many versions of similar things that it really depends on the calibre selling it to us that makes a difference.
Thankfully, if the story may be a little thin on the ground and pacing a little weak, it’s held together by a top cast. Ben Mendelsohn is near perfect as King George VI, wrestling with doing the right thing for not just his country but also his family. Kristin Scott Thomas is the sharp talking but always loving wife Clementine and sweet Lily James is the voice of reason and one who cracks Churchill’s shell as personal secretary Elizabeth Layton.
Of course they all play second fiddle to Gary Oldman, but they all have those key factors that shape Churchill from the man he was, to who he is, to who he will become. It’s this that is the meat of the 2hr film in seeing him overcome personal doubt from his own war cabinet in the choices and attitude he has to see them stand and cheer and applaud as he finally declares “we shall fight them on the beaches†- and yes, the events at Dunkirk play a key moment in the film, but we don’t see much to rival, challenge or question that of Christopher Nolan’s film.
Don’t worry, the film isn’t crammed with patriotic in-your-face propaganda and a soaring soundtrack; it’s done in a very real and minimal so when we finally reach the climax that defines who Churchill was to many, it’s a journey that feels very natural and not overly dramatic. It’s just a shame as the films finds it’s footing and we find our comfortable leads, it comes to and end.
Gary Oldman does deserve the praise and applaud, because he pretty much carries the film and becomes a British icon. Yet if you removed him and his performance, it’s possible this would simply be another Sunday BBC feature long drama. If you want something to really stir the senses and give you a swell of “Rule Britannia†then you’ll be better of sticking with Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’.
