Darkest Hour

World War II almost ended in May 1940 when Hitler tore through Europe and set its sights on Britain. Darkest Hour explores that momentous month when appeaser Neville Chamberlain resigned, Churchill became Prime Minister, and 300,000 British troops were about to be stranded at Dunkirk.

Darkest Hour (Gary Oldman, Stephen Dillane, Kristin Scott Thomas) – As the Nazis completed their lightning-quick conquest of Europe, Britain faced the realization that its failed policy of appeasement toward Hitler could have sealed its own fate.  Dunkirk was about to fall and, with it, more than 300,000 British troops retreating to the French coast.  The English Channel was all that separated England from the fall of the home of the once mighty British Empire.

 

It was clear to Parliament and the King that Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, had to go.  The Conservatives preferred Viscount Halifax (Stephen Dillane in a Oscar-worthy performance), the foreign minister, but he was one of the architects of appeasement and was unacceptable to the other parties needed to form a coalition government.  So it fell to the outspoken, enigmatic Winston Churchill to lead the government.  The King (George VI) and the Conservative Party leadership were less than enthralled but times were desperate.

 

That is the set-up for the Darkest Hour, a truly remarkable biopic about Churchill that covers only about one month – May 1940.  So much hung in the balance and history tells us that Churchill was the man for the moment. Dark Hour takes us deep into Churchill’s world. It paints a picture of an ambitious man who dedicated his life to public service at the expense of his loving wife, Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas) and their children. 

 

Many actors could have tackled this part but few (or none) could have done it as expertly as Gary Oldman.  Oldman’s distinguished and varied career includes only one Oscar nomination (for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) but his portrayals are legendary.  He has played Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK; Dylan Thomas in Dylan Thomas; Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula; Shelly Runyon in The Contender; Sirius Black in four Harry Potter movies; Bob Cratchit/Marley/Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol; Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy; Commissioner Gordon in two Dark Knight Batman films; and the bad guy who takes over Air Force One.  All memorable characters and all fabulous performances.  At 59, he has reached a pinnacle playing Winston Churchill.

 

Almost unrecognizable beneath the make-up and prosthetics, Oldman is simply otherworldly in his portrayal of the maverick, crude, visceral, egotistical, hard-drinking patriotic Churchill.   A Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor, there is little doubt that he will be rewarded with an Oscar nomination, too.  Don’t miss his perfect performance in Darkest Hour.

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