Winston Churchill is a very big name historically. Known for being the Prime Minister of Britain during the Second World War, and being the driving force of the allies victory over Hitler. While my knowledge of the political going-on during that period is very minimal, I did know that Churchill was a contentious choice as leader, who was promptly removed from office at the end of the war. It's little snippets of information like that that get the curiosity going, and piques potential viewer's interest. Hollywood would have us believe that the wars are only won on the battlefields, but war is a multi-faceted problem that requires political support as well as troop support. This is the story of Churchill's battle against his own country.
Neville Chamberlain was losing a war and in turn, lost the support of the parliament. With his resignation demanded, his replacement needed to have the support of both the Labour Party and the Conservatives, and due to that fact alone, Churchill is brought into the mix. The film follows Churchill, as he attempts to juggle winning a war when his own War Cabinet members are conspiring against him, maintain peace on the mainland while still keeping their support, and showing a strong hand when every other political body is crumbling under the Nazi onslaught.
Cast as Churchill is Gary Oldman. With the exception of his eyes, Oldman is near unrecognisable as he loses his hair and gains the extra age and rolls necessary to look the part (obviously, this has all been done with prosthetics) While Oldman does not look like Churchill, he has a number of similar features that combine with his own features to create a Churchill/Oldman hybrid.
Darkest Hour has peculiar pacing, with many of the parts that I found interesting, quickly skipped over, while the more dense but uninteresting pieces getting all the attention. Much of the narrative flow was lost by feeding too much of the background material for the supporting cast, effectively stalling the movie at certain points; there were multiple scenes with Halifax and Chamberlain and others with King George VI or Churchill's secretary that were unnecessary to the movement and understanding of the plot. Oldman's Churchill was the only character in this one-sided feature film that was holding it together. From quotes to mannerisms, Oldman pulled off a very good Churchill.
The "Underground" scene is a particular favourite, with a change of scenery and a script that allows Oldman to shine, it provides another dimension to the character beyond being cranky, and stubborn. As far as plots go, this is not all there. With no action and not focusing too much on the supporting characters, we ended up with a very thin film that struggles to stand on its own merits. Similar to Rogue One of the Star Wars franchise, Darkest Hour provides context and tries to elaborate on smaller details. A film such as this would pair well with Band of Brothers, or Dunkirk as they would feed off of each other. But as a standalone, Darkest Hour is somewhat lacking.
Originally posted on: http://djin.nz/Kr7932