Film: Darkest Hour

GENRE: Drama, Biography

RATING: PG-13 for some thematic material (whatever that means)
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 5 minutes

STARRING: Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Air Force One, Dracula)

Lily James (Downton Abbey), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones)

DIRECTOR: Joe Wright (Atonement, Anna Karenina)

WRITERS: Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything)

PLOT: The first month of Churchill as Prime Minister trying to decide if England should negotiate with Hitler or fight against surmounting odds.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Loved Churchill in The Crown.

STORY STUFF: What an interesting story. I didn’t study history, so I find some of these landmark decisions fascinating. The story is well told but the pacing could be a bit better. I found the beginning and ending riveting. The middle part does go slower, like an episode of The Crown or Downton Abbey. It is even more interesting if you’ve seen Dunkirk already. Think of this as the prequel.

ACTING STUFF: Oldman is amazing. Despite being under so much make-up and prosthetics, his eyes and lips tell the story. He commands every scene he’s in (as he should). I really hope he wins the Oscar for this performance. It’s Daniel Day-Lewis good. I’m glad John Lithgow got all his Crown awards for Churchill so he didn’t have to be compared to Oldman. The other actors, especially Lily James, are also top-notch.  

ARTISTIC STUFF: This film is beautifully shot. I love how Wright makes certain scenes completely claustrophobic by darkly framing scenes. He also does well with long corridor walks and impressive ‘God-shots’. I also really enjoyed the large text that appears on screen to show us the changing dates. The music also does a masterful job setting the tone.  

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like history, Churchill, Gary Oldman or British stuff
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Downsizing, Molly’s Game