Darkest Hour

There are certain stories, legends, morality tales etc. destined to be retold, reinterpreted and reimagined ad infinitum. Some have already been perfected and are only rehashed to satiate diminishing cinema audiences. Some haven’t got a definitive interpretation or are so worthy they should be brought regularly back to audiences and generations.

Winston Churchill certainly falls into the latter category and Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour stakes a claim to giving us cinema’s definitive portrayal of the great man.

It’s been well-documented, and odds are short on Oscar and other awards contention, but Gary Oldman is truly spectacular here. Always a fine actor, of course, and one with a lovely career trajectory from frightening villain (Leon et al.) to comforting elder statesmen (Harry Potter, Nolan’s Batmans) but he brings pathos, gravitas, respect and humility to this all-encompassing character portrait. Flitting between the sympathetic old man with the world on his shoulders and the raging war hero who struck fear into his rivals (even the King admits his intimidation here.)

It’s not just Oldman though which makes this film worth seeing. It’s a well-trodden tale but immaculately told; delving into the corridors and basements of No. 10 in the midst of WW2. We’ve often seen the battlefields and soldier’s stories, but this gives real insight into the decisions behind their actions.

Comparisons will be made to Netflix’s The Crown, high praise indeed, and for good reason as it shares plenty of locations and a particular eye for detail and smart, wide-framed, portrait-esque camera work.

The visual modernity brings this film totally up to date with bold title cards dictating the passage of time and lovely aerial, swooping shots when introducing location. It’s nuanced as well; an aerial view of battle allowing the viewer to get their bearings before the lay of the land transgresses into a fallen soldier’s bloodied cheek to show the sacrifice of Churchill’s decisions.

Churchill will always be an appealing figure for directors due to his humour and wicked wit; some lines here are stomach-clutchingly funny and help to lighten the tone (see; “Tell the Privy Seal that I am sealed in the privy and I can only deal with one sh*t at a time.”)

The detail in telling this story from Churchill’s unveiling as Prime Minister to the start of the Dunkirk evacuation means things are brought to an end a little prematurely; perhaps a Crown-esque serial of his political career could have been an alternate option, but it’s a tight, informative picture which works as a perfect companion piece to The Crown and also Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (which you could easily segue straight into once the credits roll here.)

A well-trodden tale well told then, and one of the acting performances of the year.

4 stars ****