Darkest Hour stars Gary Oldman in this true story of events involving Sir Winston Churchill and World War II. Seeing as this movie came out in November and received a recent nationwide expansion in December, you know what that means: Potential Oscar bait. This is a good but not great interpretation of one of the 20th century’s most prolific figures.
Oldman does star as Churchill and as the movie begins, he’s been called on by Parliament to succeed Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister of Great Britain as the powers that be declare his predecessor of being weak. He accepts the position despite receiving a lukewarm reception yet he continues to have the support of his wife Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas in a lovely yet understated performance.)
Ben Mendelsohn stars as King George VI who exchanges some dialogue with Churchill and wants to make absolutely certain he knows what he’s getting into as he leads England into battle against Nazi Germany. Lily James from Cinderella and Baby Driver costars as his personal secretary.
The movie focuses mostly on Churchill’s relentless involvement in sending a series of civilian forces to help aid the soldiers at Dunkirk. You might as well consider this Dunkirk only seen from a different angle.
Oldman gives career best work as Churchill and he commands the screen with a convincing, electrifying presence filled with determination, a remarkable physical stature, and most importantly, he captures of the essence of Churchill himself.
If only the rest of the film lived up to his performance.
The rest of the cast gives strong, compelling work but the rest of the film delves into conventional biopic territory by going more for zeroing in the politics and historical connotations of WWII instead of channeling on the personal side of its subject.
Yes, Churchill is known more for his mission and purpose doing the war but a little insight as to who the man was or why he chose his role in history would’ve provided more clarity.
Not to flog a dead horse on Oldman, but there’s little doubt to the imagination that he will be nominated for Best Actor and it wouldn’t surprise me if he even goes on to win that coveted prize.
Thanks to his performance, this movie does fight on the beaches, the landing grounds, the fields and the streets, the hills, and it never surrenders.