4/5 Star Rating
For some this film will be a stroll down memory lane, for others it may be a whole new story to discover. I am talking about the latest historical drama to hit our cinema screens, Darkest Hour. The film is directed by Joe Wright (known for Black Mirror, Hanna and Atonement) and it stars the unrecognisable and impeccable Gary Oldman as the iconic UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill alongside a great supporting cast line up including Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn, Ronald Pickup and Game of Thrones actor Stephen Dillane.
We are transported back in time to England, May 1940. A harrowing time for all. With Hitler and his Nazi troops intent on conquering Europe and taking over the world, and the current Prime Minister, Neville Chaimberlain (Ronald Pickup) - who has terminal cancer, is failing the expectations of his nation during these hard times. The UK was in desperate need for a new leader with new ideas. Following the resignation of Chamberlain directly to King George (Ben Mendelsohn), and after much deliberation and a rejection from Viscount Halifax (Stephen Dillane) for the role, Winston Churchill was eventually officially named as Prime Minister.
The film follows the first four weeks of Churchill's term as the PM and rather than focusing on typical world war action scenes with the character at the helm, the feature actually exhibits the hardship behind the action. If you're looking for action packed battle scenes, this may not be the film for you. The film centres around the PM, his war rooms beneath Westminster Palace, his fellow politicians and his family life. Some I have spoken to found this rather dull, I however found it incredibly fascinating to see exactly what would have happened behind the walls of parliament. Others have even said that this feature is a great cinematic companion for Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk in 2017 as both that and Darkest hour "show both sides of the coin" - Kristin Scott Thomas.
Gary Oldman, as most are already aware, is a very versatile actor. He is most famously known for his roles including Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise films, George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Commissioner Jim Gordon in Batman films, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. This time around Oldman makes an absolutely outstanding performance in this role, unlike any other that he has portrayed before. A part that could possibly be the biggest and most successful of his career to date. Forget the words 'Darkest Hour' this was the actor's finest hour! With assistance from make-up artist Kazuhiro Tsuji and their intricately detailed prosthetics including those infamous wobbling jowls and thin, wispy white hair, the character was perfectly brought back to life.
It was clear to see that Oldman had researched the character very well and even himself admitted in one interview, that he worked with an opera singer once a week to learn the range of tones in which Churchill originally spoke. He also continued to say "you can't just turn up and do this. Maybe there are jobs that one can put less work into and just hit the marks and say the lines, but the amount of work needed to even get comfortable was considerable. It needs homework". He really did an amazing job and absolutely revelled in portraying the brash, outspoken and rather tactless PM.
Churchill was not a favourable character within parliament, yet still with Gary Oldman's portrayal, there was something lovable about the politician. I think a lot of that was down to the humour added into the script. This was not something I was expecting to see from this film. I actually found myself quietly chuckling frequently throughout the entire feature.
The humour was quite consistent throughout the film. For example Churchill accidentally swearing to the press instead of showing his signature V for victory sign with his fingers (just as the real politician did) and even discussing a political situation while using the bathroom with this rather amusing line: "Please tell the Privy Seal that I'm sealed in the privy and I can only deal with one shit at a time." Bold and memorable statements within the script were also a constant feature. Most of them quite inspirational. The line that stood out for me and highly likely for many others was said by Oldman's Churchill when in talks with his fellow politicians about possible peace negotiations with Germany and their tyrant leader. The proposal was brought forward by Viscount Halifax (Dillane). The line I am about to quote was also featured heavily in all of the film's trailers. The statement is: "You cannot reason with a tiger, when your head is in it's mouth!" (in which we see the PM rise from his chair and scream at his colleagues in frustration).
Let's take a moment to mention the supporting characters. To be honest Gary Oldman could have easily run the whole show by himself with his stunning performance in this role. But a tripod needs more than one leg to stand. Churchill's wife Clementine, probably the most influential person within his life. The film shows her to be very supportive of her husband in any way that she can.
Clementine Churchill, also known as 'Clemmie' had been portrayed by Cornish actress Kristin Scott Thomas. Given that the actress would have been just 5 years of age when Winston Churchill passed, people may have expected her to jump into this opportunity. This was not the case, she initially was quite hesitant to accept the offer of the part. In an interview with Late Night presenter Seth Meyers, she had said "so many films have been made about Churchill, and I have been asked to play Clemmie more than once. I always avoided it for a number of reasons, one of them being is I don't like playing people that really existed because you get it wrong, or you get it right, it's tricky and then I met Joe, (Wright) and I've always been a huge admirer of his films, I think they're amazing, he has such a clever mixture of beauty and really good communication between people, he's very clever. I wanted to work with Joe, and I read the script. The script was brilliant, but it was a bit sparse, so they made it a bit bigger and I accepted." In my opinion there probably wasn't a better casting choice for this part. The actress was able to show the emotions needed when playing the part of not only the wife of a politician but a hero with the weight of the world resting on his shoulders.
More often than none, wives in films are seen merely in the background, but Clemmie is seen to be much more involved in Darkest Hour. What's really lovely to see is that Clemmie and Winston are depicted as every other regular couple despite their political status. They show their love for one another, they bicker and throw insults at each other and support one another perfectly well. In real life and on film the two are a perfect match and made for each other.
Winston Churchill was a writer in his day and he was known for making some extraordinary speeches during his time as the Prime Minister. He often had a personal secretary at hand, whether that was for personal use or work. Darkest Hour shows the talents of actress Lily James as the Pm's personal secretary Elizabeth Layton. This secretary would be working at her typewriter at all hours for Churchill as the inspiration came to him in each moment. To prepare for the role James had actually read Elizabeth Layton's book which summarises the secretary's personal experience when working for Winston Churchill, in which she describes him as "impatient, kind, irritable, crushing, generous, inspiring, difficult, alarming, amusing, unpredictable, considerate, seemingly impossible to please, quick to anger and quick to forgive." James had said she was completely lost in her character's book. Also to prepare for the role the actress admitted to taking touch typing classes for 6 weeks! So shes now a bit of an expert and proving that she wasn't just typing just any random letters while playing her part in the film. In one of her interviews to promote the film, she said that she had to type properly alongside Oldman as he was conveying his lines to her, explaining to her interviewer "I really was writing what he was saying." This for me is pretty impressive. She said she was proud and so she should be.
The one niggle I have with this film, is that I expected to see either Oldman or archive footage of Churchill himself, give his famous speech to celebrate the end of the war. I know the film was set in the first four weeks of Churchill's term as PM, but I think it would have been ideal to add to the film's ending before or even mid way through the credits as a tribute to the man that saved the world. This is why I have marked down the film's overall rating.
Images courtesy of Google/Video courtesy of YouTube
With all the effort going into this product from everyone on set and an amazing outcome of a film, I can really see why Darkest Hour has been nominated for so many awards this year. With the raw emotion, drama and humour all crammed into a time of 2 hours and 5 minutes, it is a well rounded film and one that I think will be a very iconic film for a very long time.