Premiering at the 2017 Telluride Film Festival, biopic Darkest Hour is distributed theatrically by Focus Features. The film tells the true story of how, less than a year into World War II, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) resigned, which led to Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) taking over. Churchill was not the first choice, but he ultimately became Britain’s last hope, and during his first few weeks in the job he had a tremendously hard decision to make – follow his gut and risk all out war, or negotiate a peace treaty with Hitler that would likely result in Britain ultimately being under Nazi rule.
PROS
- Joe Wright’s direction and Anthony McCarten’s screenplay have a dark tone, which conveys well the bleakness and uncertainty that Britain was going through in 1940.
- Excellent production design gives the film an authentic feel of the early 1940s, with especial detail in the costumes and props.
- Outstanding work by the makeup department, who transform Gary Oldman into a man much larger and noticeably older flawlessly, yet not to the point where Oldman’s face is totally unrecognisable.
- A good cast with memorable performances from Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ronald Pickup. This film, however, is Gary Oldman’s, who gives a career best performance by not just playing the role of Churchill, but inhabiting it, to the point where you cannot picture any other actor in the role.
CONS
- While Ben Mendelsohn’s performance as King George VI is not bad, the decision to give him a lisp is somewhat distracting, and ultimately feels disrespectful.
- There are a few moments where it is clear that screenwriter Anthony McCarten was going for some light relief, however, these moments fail to be funny, not least an example of bodily humour (if you catch my drift…).
VERDICT: 8/10
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