Darkest Hour

Churchill takes over a failing Government as Germany rages war on Europe.

It's a fascinating piece of history, there are countless films about world war two, but this focuses on the story from Churchill's point of view, how he came to power, and the obstacles he had in his way.

An incredible production, the visuals are staggering, I remember being blown away at the cinema, years later it's still as impressive.

It's a powerhouse performance from Gary Oldman, I believe he studied Churchill for quite some time, he is captivating from start to end here, he's always immensely watchable, here though, even by his standards, this was dazzling, the mannerisms, the eyes, the irascibility, it's perfect.

Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James and Samuel West are all terrific in their respective roles, the acting throughout is first rate, plenty of well known faces for you to recognise.

It's one of those films I never get bored of watching.

A classic, 10/10.

Although its been shown to have been largely fictionalized, the gist of the story is accurate. Oldman gives an incredible performance, and not as some old bellowing windbag either. After seeing this, one might recommend reading churchill's own 6 volume set on the subject, but to save time, the first volume, The Gathering Storm, may provide one with some historical pretext for this monumental event in western history-Churchill standing up to a madman, and this saving not just britain, but all good men everywhere. Oldman, you da man!

As a film this is quite good; it's not dull, the performances are good, the production design is excellent, the script is a professional piece of work and even Oldman's make-up is not too distracting.

However, something is not right. If most people get their history from movies, this is concerning. It's obvious that actual events occurred with real people and what they did and said but in a movie this gets pasteurized into what smart people believe will be more thrilling, more sympathetic, more emotional. That process necessarily alters things into something that is even anachronistically rendered and therefore not in the record.

This defect occurs frequently in this movie , so it's not history but myth making. A good example is Churchill's dive into the Underground to meet the common person to steel his resolve. Now Churchill had a mixed view of the average voter, and he was a patrician, but even that aside, he did not need to take a Tube train survey to gauge opinion.

This scene is poached from Shakespeare's Henry V where the king goes among his soldiers the night before battle to hear them and take courage from their strength. Steal from the best is a good policy, but it's not history. It's Shakespearean history and that trades effect for accuracy too.

The audience is given this scene to present Churchill as an instrument of democracy; he's acting for what the people want, therefore he's doing the right thing. It's called pandering.

Well, it is just a movie.

Not many films nowadays touches people deep inside their hearts.

This one did. At least mine. I am not often generous with grading movies, but I proudly give this a 8/10.

And no Im not an englishman, im Swedish!

Gary Oldman is SUPERIOR in his acting. He is simply flawless in his acting. He even twitches his eyes from time to time making him look tired and old in his very eyes.

I dont know what else to say than bravo, and on to Victory!

I cannot remember the last time I was in a movie and I said, gee I wish this movie would keep going because it's just so damn good. I don't really have to say anything more about Oldman beyond what's already been said, that was brilliant Academy Award work. Despite being a literalist on history and not enjoying Hollywood embellishments/contrivances that didn't really happen, I will repeat something I said on another movie (Patton): I am okay where a fictional event is one that could have happened (or maybe happened out of time sequence) where it is used more to show the persona of the character than to establish an historical fact. Notwithstanding this, the subway scene may have been a little much. Strong cast throughout, including the portrayers of King George VI, Chamberlain, Halifax and Churchill's lovely secretary (James). A must see for WW II buffs and appreciators of good cinema everywhere.