Darkest Hour

Year: 2017
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ben Mendelsohn, Ronald Pickup


Plot: Based on the true story of Winston Churchill, who was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain in May 1940, and tasked to deal with the German invasion of Western Europe during World War II.


Review: Darkest Hour is not to be mistaken with that poor sci-fi movie in 2011. This is a story of Winston Churchill and his days as Prime Minister of Great Britain during the height of WW2.

In this film which takes place in May 1940, Europe faces the Nazi threat as German forces invade Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and France, among others. With current Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain being unable to win the confidence of the House, the Conservatives elect Churchill to take over. Churchill is already deemed unpopular among his peers and King George as well due to his questionable past, and his move to continue the fight against the Germans does not go down well with his fellow ministers, who prefer to negotiate peace instead.

Director Joe Wright presents not just the darkest hour of Great Britain and Europe at the time, but Churchill's as well. Wright shows us that the man is proud, stubborn and unrelenting, and even difficult at times. But even when he was unpopular and his choices were dubious among his war room members, he stayed true to his guns and made a decision that we all know now was the right one. For those of you who have seen The King's Speech and Dunkirk, some of the things you will witness in this film will be most familiar to you.

Gary Oldman, a fine actor in any genre he finds himself in, is superb as Churchill. Sure, the makeup effects help a great deal in making him look like the man, but Oldman's talent in bringing forth his mannerisms and disappearing into the role must be applauded. He pretty much owns every scene he's in, whether he's at his most confident or at his lowest point. Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James lend some solid support as Churchill's wife and secretary respectively, while Rogue One's Ben Mendelsohn also impresses in his minor role as King George VI.

While the film captures Churchill's darkest and subsequently finest hour, it does take a couple of historic liberties here, which I will not mention. This was obviously to create more drama for the audience to consume, and overall I sort of appreciated it. It does make me wonder if a more honest approach would achieve the same result.

Overall, Darkest Hour is a solid film about one of the most well known historic figures of all time. Much like Lincoln, it isn't a biography, but an in depth look at one man's efforts during a critical period in history. It's well worth checking out. (7.5/10)