Movie Review: Darkest Hour

Darkest Hour *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Joe Wright.

Written by: Anthony McCarten.

Starring: Gary Oldman (Winston Churchill), Lily James (Elizabeth Layton), Ben Mendelsohn (King George VI), Kristin Scott Thomas (Clementine Churchill), Stephen Dillane (Viscount Halifax), Samuel West (Sir Anthony Eden), Ronald Pickup (Neville Chamberlain), Richard Lumsden (General Ismay).

 

Gary Oldman has been one of the best actors in the world for decades now – and an actor who is never afraid of going wildly over-the-top in any role from Sid & Nancy to The Professional to Hannibal to The Contender to Dracula and on and on. Sure, Oldman can do subtle if he wants to – he finally received his first Oscar nomination for his intricate work in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and he was the quietest member of the ensemble in Nolan’s Batman films as Commissioner Gordon – but it’s always a pleasure to see Oldman in full bluster. In Darkest Hour, Oldman starts his performance in a bathrobe, shouting, and only gets bigger from there. He’s cranked up to 11 from the hop – and the amazing thing is, it works. He is playing Winston Churchill after all – a man in love with his own voice, and absolutely never shut up. The film is tightly focused on the early days as Prime Minister – the first month or so – when he takes over for Neville Chamberlain, and is immediately a war time Prime Minister. Europe is on the brink of collapse, and his own troops are likely to trapped at Dunkirk (yes, the film works very well as a companion to Nolan’s film – telling you everything it didn’t) and being pressured at all times to negotiate a peace treaty with Hitler – something he adamantly does not want to do. The movie hinges on Churchill’s big speeches – speeches where he will do anything to inspire the British public – including tell bald faced lies if need be. The film is about the power of that language.

 

The film was directed by Joe Wright – perhaps picking a safer choice after his Pan bombed in 2015 – and he knows what to do with this film. Written by Anthony McCarten, the movie in many ways feels like it was adapted from a play (it wasn’t) – as the whole thing takes place in smoky chamber rooms or underground bunkers – a few scenes in Parliament, or the palace. The cinematography by the great Bruno Delbonnel is wonderful – full of desaturated colors, and darkness – and wonderful tracking shots through those bunkers. The score, by Dario Marianelli is even better – and keeps the movie moving along, even during moments where the film sags. None of this is as ambitious as Wright’s last costume drama – Anna Karenina – or as perfect as Wright’s Atonement (which also featured Dunkirk) – but its prestige, British costume drama done correctly.

 

The movie goes along at a remarkable clip up until its final act. It’s here – when Churchill for a time actually does consider negotiating with Hitler – when the movie sags more than a bit. With Churchill cowed for a few scenes, and quiet and sputtering, the movie loses its way for a while. This reaches its nadir in a sequence that plays as pure fantasy, as Churchill gets onto the “tube” and talks with regular Londoners about the war (for all of one stop – but hey, it’s a long one). The scene is supposed to be the inspirational heart of the film – but it plays as completely phony. The movie recovers with the finale – in which Churchill delivers his infamous speech to the House of Commons (also heard in Dunkirk, in less bombastic fashion).

 

The supporting cast for the film is mostly excellent. Sensing that Oldman is going to do more than enough acting for all of them, they for the most part play their roles quietly. In some cases – like the normally charming Lily James, who plays a typist supposed to be an audience surrogate, she threatens to recede entirely into the background and be forgotten. In others, like Ben Mendolsohn as King George, he is able to nicely underplay the role of the stuttering King, with more nuance that Colin Firth (for the record, I still quite like Firth’s work in The King’s Speech). Kristen Scott Thomas is a delight in a few scenes as Churchill’s wife. Most of Churchill’s “enemies” in the house kind of blend together – we remember Chamberlain because of his mustache, and Stephen Dillane’s Halifax because he’s the biggest stick in the mud in recent memory.

 

Overall, Darkest Hour does precisely the job it wants to do. Yes, it is straight down the middle – a middlebrow, prestige drama, the kind favored by the Masterpiece Theater crowd (and Oscar voters). But that doesn’t mean the film is bad. Wright knows how to do this type of drama well – and he uses Oldman’s blustery performance to perfection. Sometimes, Oldman has looked silly going so wildly over-the-top in films that don’t know how to use him properly. This one does – and surrounds a great performance with a good movie.