Starring: Garry Oldman

Distributed By: Focus Features

Runtime: 2 Hours

Genre: Historical / Biography & Drama

Overview:

Watch the rise of eccentric, but powerful British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. The United Kingdom is facing an existential threat to its existence as Nazi Germany is conquering its allies and has British troops pinned down on Dunkirk beach. Facing mounting pressure to negotiate peace, Winston Churchill looks to inspire British parliament to not surrender.

Rating Time! 3 / 4 Union Jacks 🇬🇧 🇬🇧 🇬🇧

The Good: This historical drama provides a fascinating insight into the UK’s desperation as Nazi Germany began to close in. The actors including Gary Oldman (playing Winston Churchill) do an excellent job of creating a sense of existential dread. Despite only peripherally covering the battle on Dunkirk beach, ‘Darkest Hour’ Manages to do what the film ‘Dunkirk’ could not do in its film, explain what is actually happening.

The Not So Good: There is a lot of buzz about Gary Oldman this Oscar season, but I am not on the train. I understand mumbling is a part of the character, but if you are going to be a front-runner for best actor, I should be able to understand more than 65% of your spoken lines. If you’re watching this film on demand, make use of the subtitles and you’ll be grateful. Also, this film does burn on the slow side. I was hoping to see some action when the English take on the Germans in the battle of London. This did not happen. There was also no action really shown on Dunkirk beach. I wouldn’t expect this, given there was another 2-hour movie that had nothing but action involving Dunkirk beach. This takes me into my main takeaway…

The Takeaway: If this film and ‘Dunkirk’ were edited and combined into a single film, it would probably be my pick for best picture. ‘Darkest Hour’ provides extensive background and mood setting back on the home front. It follows the unlikely Prime Minister and his desperate attempts to hold the country together in the face of true danger. ‘Dunkirk’ provides captivating action and shows soldiers desperately trying to escape Dunkirk beach. It also shows civilian vessels trying to rescue troops on the beach. A perfect film would have combined the deliberation of Churchill, with the action down on the beach. Neither film was balanced, although ‘Darkest hour’ was good enough to secure a passing score from me. I’m a bit of a political junkie and this film really centers on the politics of the conflict as opposed to the conflict itself. I can respect that and many people will enjoy it as well.

Trailer:

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