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Darkest hour (2017)
I was looking forward to this film as I have always been interested in and inspired by Winston Churchill.
It is obviously also a key part of my countries history and some of the first things that we learnt about in school history lessons.
I like reviewing such films as the risks of spoilers are lower as most people know the general story.
My concerns were that it was going to be more of the same of previous films that we have seen about the subject and the man.
I went in with an open mind and the only expectations that I had was a strong performance from Oldman as there have been plenty of plaudits.
What I liked
Simply put, Everything! I absolutely loved this film. I have seen many films, TV series and documentaries about Winston Churchill and his defiance of Hitler. I have also read some biographies about it.
Oldman was superb and deserves all of the praise that he gets from this performance.
The cinematography was excellent, some really good shots. That is not normally a priority for me in films but I was consistently appreciating the quality throughout the film.
I wasn't fully prepared for how emotive the film would be. I am patriotic, but not really in a flag waving, chest beating kind of way, but this film had me wanting to applaud the speeches that I have read and heard so many times previously.
As stated, I have read and watched so much on the subject and yet before today, i don't think I fully appreciated how precarious the situation was and how different things could have been.
This should be used as a resource for schools wanting to learn about the subject.
I also felt that I understood more about the urgency of the situation in Dunkirk from this film, without a single shot of a soldier or a French beach than I did from the whole of Nolan's film.
One of the stand out things for me about this film was the sense of realism I got from it. It felt real and Oldman portrayed the strength and vulnerability of Winston Churchill simultaneously. The conflicts that existed with Churchill are mirrored by those that surround him and also by those within Europe at the time.
What I didn't like
Nothing. I loved it.
Overall
12 days into the year and I am not sure that I will see a better film this year. A superb piece of film making that may well slide straight into my top 10.
Excellent work from Anthony McCarten and Joe Wright.
Darkest hour (2017)
I was looking forward to this film as I have always been interested in and inspired by Winston Churchill.
It is obviously also a key part of my countries history and some of the first things that we learnt about in school history lessons.
I like reviewing such films as the risks of spoilers are lower as most people know the general story.
My concerns were that it was going to be more of the same of previous films that we have seen about the subject and the man.
I went in with an open mind and the only expectations that I had was a strong performance from Oldman as there have been plenty of plaudits.
What I liked
Simply put, Everything! I absolutely loved this film. I have seen many films, TV series and documentaries about Winston Churchill and his defiance of Hitler. I have also read some biographies about it.
Oldman was superb and deserves all of the praise that he gets from this performance.
The cinematography was excellent, some really good shots. That is not normally a priority for me in films but I was consistently appreciating the quality throughout the film.
I wasn't fully prepared for how emotive the film would be. I am patriotic, but not really in a flag waving, chest beating kind of way, but this film had me wanting to applaud the speeches that I have read and heard so many times previously.
As stated, I have read and watched so much on the subject and yet before today, i don't think I fully appreciated how precarious the situation was and how different things could have been.
This should be used as a resource for schools wanting to learn about the subject.
I also felt that I understood more about the urgency of the situation in Dunkirk from this film, without a single shot of a soldier or a French beach than I did from the whole of Nolan's film.
One of the stand out things for me about this film was the sense of realism I got from it. It felt real and Oldman portrayed the strength and vulnerability of Winston Churchill simultaneously. The conflicts that existed with Churchill are mirrored by those that surround him and also by those within Europe at the time.
What I didn't like
Nothing. I loved it.
Overall
12 days into the year and I am not sure that I will see a better film this year. A superb piece of film making that may well slide straight into my top 10.
Excellent work from Anthony McCarten and Joe Wright.