Darkest Hour
Composite Score: 84.77
Starring: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn, Ronald Pickup, and Stephen Dillane
Director: Joe Wright
Writer: Anthony McCarten
Genres: Biography, Drama, War, History
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some thematic material
Box Office: $150.85 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Darkest Hour is the 2017 film about the first few weeks of Winston Churchill’s tenure as Prime Minister of Great Britain in the early days of World War II and his responses to the various political and strategic pressures on him and the nation in those days. The film stars Gary Oldman as the renowned/infamous politician, supported by Lily James as his secretary Elizabeth Layton, Kristin Scott Thomas as his wife Clemmie, Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI, Ronald Pickup as his predecessor Neville Chamberlain, and Stephen Dillane as the party favorite Viscount Halifax. The film received six Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture and wins for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and for Best Actor for Gary Oldman. It makes its mark primarily in those two categories, showcasing some of Oldman’s best work to date with the help of some excellent makeup/prosthetics to really sell the role.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Outside of Oldman’s performance, some creative cinematography choices, and the immaculate prosthetic and makeup work, Darkest Hour just feels like a boring mash-up of The King’s Speech and Dunkirk – two superior films about the same era of British history (literally the same key event in Dunkirk). Most of the political intrigue and emotional beats of the story also come to us as the result of fabrication to buff up the character and story of Churchill, ignoring the contributions of other members of the British government (like Labour Party Leader Clement Atlee) to Britain’s decision not to sue for peace with Hitler and the Axis Powers in May of 1940. In this way, the film ends up coming across as a puff-piece designed to glorify another British historical figure – in the same vein as The Iron Lady with Margaret Thatcher.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Gary Oldman is and was the reason to make and see this film. His performance as Churchill is one of those iconic moments of an actor truly becoming someone else for a role. The hair and makeup team did a fantastic job in helping achieve that end – rendering the actor nearly unrecognizable in concert with his voice work and character study. Fans of Oldman’s typical turns as the villain in mid-budget 90s films or of his Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy will be happy to see the actor in this leading role, dominating the scenes as only he is capable of doing, and finally as the true leading man – really for the first time since Dracula and Sid and Nancy. It’s a solid performance in a film designed to win him the Oscar, and it worked out. Is it his best work? Not necessarily, but it marks a clear shift in his career, leading to his roles in Mank and Oppenheimer in particular.
Darkest Hour serves as a vehicle for one of the great performances of the current century in Gary Oldman’s Churchill, earning it a spot among the greats. While the rest of the film feels like it’s been done before (and probably done better), Oldman and the work done to make him look like the iconic PM deserve to be seen at least once. This film is currently available to stream on Netflix for anyone looking to give it that chance.
