Churchill's Secret

This 100 minute long film was made for UK TV and stars the incomparable Michael Gambon as Churchill. It is 1953 and he has just suffered a second stroke. Proving that spin was alive and well even back then, the powers that be and the Tory party wanted to keep the truth hidden. So he is whisked off to his ancestral home to recover.

The film is based around the nurse who was drafted in to care for him – this is Ramola Garai ('Suffragette') who plays Millie Appleyard and she is both convincing and a lovely on screen presence. The drama unfolds around the International situation and the warming up of 'the Cold War' and domestic policies as well as the far too cosy a relationship Churchill had with the Newspaper moguls.

So is it any good? Well with a coterie of great actors it was always hard to make this fail. Lindsay Duncan plays Clemmie Churchill and is – as always- excellent. The massively talented Bill Patterson plays Lord Moran and we have 'Ripper Street's own Mathew Macfadyen playing Randolph Churchill at his swaggering best. The drama was never going to be edge of seat stuff but the performances are all solid enough to hold your attention. I actually really enjoyed it even though it could have been better, but I was hooked for the full run – recommended.

Surprisingly I enjoyed this more than some of the other movies about Churchill recently. Probably because it doesn't go over familiar ground that has been done to death. This movie concerns a stroke he had. His party's attempted to cover it up. Another interesting aspect is his children's reactions to his illness and recovery. It's not a flattering portrayal of his family life but as we do know there were some alcohol problems with his children.

Michael Gambon acts very well even if he isn't physically like Churchill as much as some of the other portrayals. Michael Macfayden steals some scenes as the belligerent drunk son. Lindsay Duncan is the most elegant looking Clementine of recent screen portrayals.

Worth a watch even if you think you have seen too many biopics about him.

I scarcely ever like biopics, and as it turned out I wasn't going to start with "Churchill's Secret". The main reason is that they nearly always take a lend of a famous personality to provide audience motivation and engagement, rather than relying on the merits of the story and the screenplay. The Churchill legend is tapped here and it turns out to be a weak basis for a rather dull and slow movie. In some ways I didn't mind spending a couple of hours in this world, mainly because of the Chartwell setting which brought recollections of a past visit. The character actors do well with what material they have, and are well-costumed and coiffed. I think it's a weakness that the film focuses on family drama rather than evoking national and global tensions, which are referred to, but not effectively exploited. Lindsay Duncan is beautiful to look at as Clemmie, but she is rather unlikeable, which is a pity. Michael Gambon ticks a familiar box as a senior British male actor in portraying Churchill, but his depiction didn't especially evoke Churchill for me. It's a tough call, but it's one of the weaknesses making this film an "also ran".

If you rangefinder 8,you either are not British or do not know your History,or both!

The movie has some pretty good picture and landscapes and beautiful shots, actors all are stunning , romola wasnt at her best but was good, churchill himself , michel gambon has played so profissionaly and well, the mother of the family , linsay duncan was awesome and really acted well , like a strong mother and wife trying to hold the family and keep everyone calm and not to show any signs of weakness to upset or worry her dear ones, as i said in the title Matthew Macfadyen really killed it with a 10-15 min performance, churchil daughters i didnt get them , nor by acting nor the story speaking of story , well, didnt got me , i watched it for the actors , and even after finishing the movie , story never interested me.