We continued our New Year's Eve tradition - begun in 1990 with "Home Alone" - of going to a movie this past Sunday. This year, the choice was "Darkest Hour", a biopic about Winston Churchill, starring Gary Oldman as Churchill, screenplay by Anthony McCarten and directed by Joe Wright.
The movie covers approximately one month in Churchill's life from the time he became Prime Minister in May, 1940 to the eve of the operation to evacuate besieged British troops from Dunkirk in France. The European mainland was falling to Nazi Germany, and surely England and the United Kingdom were next on Adolf Hitler's radar. It was a most critical time in world history. The British government under Neville Chamberlain was failing, and Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of a coalition, wartime government, and he had no easy task ahead of him. Not only did Churchill have to deal with the problems of the world, but also with the political realities and sniping from other members within his own government, including King George VI (the same king from "The King's Speech").
Are great men always great, or do they become great under the circumstances in which they find themselves? This is always a tricky and interesting historical question to debate, and this movie does just that. It is a terrifically told story, and a beautifully made movie. Director Wright makes frequent use of overhead shots and they are very effective. However, the real force of this this movie, and perhaps the main reason to see it is the astonishing performance of Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill.
Oldman is an old pro. He has over ninety acting credits in IMDB - Harry Potter movies, Batman movies, John le Carre heroes, a Planet of the Apes movie, he even once played Lee Harvey Oswald - but this performance is a true tour de force. They should be engraving his name on that Best Actor Oscar right now. Simply tremendous.
The movie also stars Kristen Scott Thomas as Clementine Churchill, Ben Mendelsohn as King George, and the delightful Lily James (Lady Rose from Downton Abbey) as Miss Layton, Churchill's terrorized, steadfast, and loyal secretary.
A terrific movie that is not to be missed. Four Stars all the way from The Grandstander.
Thanks for the review, I can't wait to view this film which is "right up my alley" as I am a history buff and am fascinated with Winston Churchill...keep up the good work.
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