#jow wright

Darkest Hour tells the story of newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s (Gary Oldman) struggle to gain footing against Hitler’s advancing regime and earn the trust of his country and fellow politicians. Torn between either negotiating with the facist leader, or choosing to rally his own forces and fight him, Churchill must face the consequences of either action. If he negotiates, he will have the support of his party; if he fights, he may lose his seat as well as the lives of thousands of British soldiers. 

The film is an interesting foil to the film Dunkirk; Since both films take place in the same space of time, they are, in some ways, two sides of the same coin.  As someone who knew almost nothing about Churchill or Dunkirk before viewing these films, they were educational  as well as entertaining. 

However, apart from a scene in which Churchill meets with his civilians on the Underground, the film failed to move me (and even that scene felt a little too trite and contrived.) 

 I also found the focus on Churchill’s secretary (Lily James) to be unnecessary and misleading. The first half of the film seemed to be building her up as an advisor or confidant to Churchill, but this ultimately never paid off. 

I’ve seen some critics refer to Oldman’s performance as ‘electrifying’ and honestly? I don’t get it.  I think his stellar transformation into Winston Churchill is more a testament to the abilities of his makeup and costuming team than his own as an actor.  Don’t get me wrong- he is a great actor. But when pitted up against some of the younger talents nominated for this year’s Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar, his performance is good at best, and unorginal at worst.