If you can get past the opening 5 minutes of the film then you may be able to deal with the whole thing. I was slightly annoyed when it opens with a spotlight on Churchill speaking in parliament while everyone else sits in gloom, I know lighting is very rarely realistic in movies but this just looked so ridiculous. We also get a slightly frenetic whiny Churchill, I just don't think the voice is quite right. Far from being a superman he's here portrayed as a little pampered, bad tempered, etc but the overall point of the film is that he is right. The film portrays very much Churchill as an underdog, unwanted by his cabinet colleagues, a man walking a lonely path and at times almost overcome with the difficulty of it all. I did like the production design, the recreation of the war room, some of the CGI just doesn't look great but the film mostly sticks to meeting rooms. My favourite scene actually was Churchill being briefed on the likely invasion of Britain, things really couldn't be more serious, also his pleading with Roosevelt for help was another great moment of a desperate man letting his guard down. Churchill's colleagues are largely portrayed as petty man scheming to remove him, even the King is very luke warm about him. It does also show Churchill a more cynical speechwriter, occasionally willing to put a lot of spin on things if he feels British moral cannot cope with the truth. You kind of know where the film is heading though, the title scrawls at the end must be for the very uneducated. The film also panders heavily to a modern audience with Churchill taking a magical trip on the underground to meet the real Londoners who are of course full of pluck and fight and know far more than all the MPs and Ministers sitting in parliament. Churchill the populist! I also found it irritating that the key female relationship portrayed in this film during his moment of crisis was all fictional given he had not even met this secretary yet until 1941. It really was an enormous slice of creative license. The performance isn't bad, it's not perfect either though I feel from Oldman, the story is moving though parts of it are clearly just a screenplay. All in all a mixed review therefore.
Review of Darkest Hour
