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Darkest Hour
A breathtaking performance from cinema's greatest chameleon, Gary Oldman, is the centerpiece of a slightly pretentious but well-intentioned historical drama called Darkest Hour, centering on one of our most controversial military leaders, that has earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture of the Year.
This film actually covers the same time in history as another Best Picture nominee, Dunkirk. but from a different angle. It is May of 1940 and Hitler has invaded France, Belgium, and Norway and the British Parliament is not happy with the leadership provided by Neville Chamberlain and reluctantly turn to Winston Churchill has a replacement. Even though it is never really said out loud. most of the Parliament think Churchill is a little bonkers and are not thrilled about him leading Great Britain through this critical part of a world war that the allies are clearly losing.
I won't lie, my knowledge regarding Churchill is limited to brief mentions of his name in history class, so I was curious as to how the character would be presented here. When we first meet Churchill here, we are introduced to a man who is not only up to the challenge of becoming prime minister, but has been alternately dreaming about it since childhood and being terrified of it at the same time. I liken his attitude about his position to an actor dreaming of being nominated for an Oscar and being terrified and feeling unworthy when it finally happens.
These conflicted feelings are the basis of this complex character, who is made surprisingly human and flawed through director Joe Wright's initial presentation of the character...our first glimpse of the character is in bed enjoying his breakfast of bacon, eggs, and scotch and screaming at his new secretary. His meeting with King George IV as he accepts the position of Prime Minister is probably his most humbling moment in the film, as Churchill's through line comes shining through...the only way to win this war is to fight, as opposed to entering peace negotiations, which is what the Parliament wants. It is also at this point that we realize that the lack of trust the Parliament has in Churchill is totally mutual. As the story progresses, we see that Churchill has very few allies and the ones that he has are quite unexpected.
Anthony McCarten's screenplay is a little talky and pretentious, but it perfectly captures the sensibilities of the British people and their way of never saying exactly what they mean, which is probably why they consider Churchill crazy. One character in the movie said it best: "We never know what's going to come out of your mouth." Despite the character's lack of filter and his conflict about what he's doing, we know that no matter what his actions are on the surface, his feelings about this war never change.
The film is exquisitely mounted featuring spectacular cinematography, set direction, costumes, and Gary Oldman's phenomenal makeup. Oldman is completely unrecognizable in the leading role, if his name hadn't been in the credits, I never would have known what actor was playing this role. I'm pretty sure Oldman will finally win the Lead Actor Oscar that has alluded him and mention should also be made of Ben Mendelsohn as King George IV, Ronald Pickup as Chamberlain, and Kristen Scott Thomas as Mrs. Churchill. The pacing of the story is a little too leisurely, but Oldman and company do make this a journey worth making.
A breathtaking performance from cinema's greatest chameleon, Gary Oldman, is the centerpiece of a slightly pretentious but well-intentioned historical drama called Darkest Hour, centering on one of our most controversial military leaders, that has earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture of the Year.
This film actually covers the same time in history as another Best Picture nominee, Dunkirk. but from a different angle. It is May of 1940 and Hitler has invaded France, Belgium, and Norway and the British Parliament is not happy with the leadership provided by Neville Chamberlain and reluctantly turn to Winston Churchill has a replacement. Even though it is never really said out loud. most of the Parliament think Churchill is a little bonkers and are not thrilled about him leading Great Britain through this critical part of a world war that the allies are clearly losing.
I won't lie, my knowledge regarding Churchill is limited to brief mentions of his name in history class, so I was curious as to how the character would be presented here. When we first meet Churchill here, we are introduced to a man who is not only up to the challenge of becoming prime minister, but has been alternately dreaming about it since childhood and being terrified of it at the same time. I liken his attitude about his position to an actor dreaming of being nominated for an Oscar and being terrified and feeling unworthy when it finally happens.
These conflicted feelings are the basis of this complex character, who is made surprisingly human and flawed through director Joe Wright's initial presentation of the character...our first glimpse of the character is in bed enjoying his breakfast of bacon, eggs, and scotch and screaming at his new secretary. His meeting with King George IV as he accepts the position of Prime Minister is probably his most humbling moment in the film, as Churchill's through line comes shining through...the only way to win this war is to fight, as opposed to entering peace negotiations, which is what the Parliament wants. It is also at this point that we realize that the lack of trust the Parliament has in Churchill is totally mutual. As the story progresses, we see that Churchill has very few allies and the ones that he has are quite unexpected.
Anthony McCarten's screenplay is a little talky and pretentious, but it perfectly captures the sensibilities of the British people and their way of never saying exactly what they mean, which is probably why they consider Churchill crazy. One character in the movie said it best: "We never know what's going to come out of your mouth." Despite the character's lack of filter and his conflict about what he's doing, we know that no matter what his actions are on the surface, his feelings about this war never change.
The film is exquisitely mounted featuring spectacular cinematography, set direction, costumes, and Gary Oldman's phenomenal makeup. Oldman is completely unrecognizable in the leading role, if his name hadn't been in the credits, I never would have known what actor was playing this role. I'm pretty sure Oldman will finally win the Lead Actor Oscar that has alluded him and mention should also be made of Ben Mendelsohn as King George IV, Ronald Pickup as Chamberlain, and Kristen Scott Thomas as Mrs. Churchill. The pacing of the story is a little too leisurely, but Oldman and company do make this a journey worth making.