Review of Darkest Hour (2017) by Jo F — 02 Jan 2018

The Darkest Hour -- So we have a history lesson centered around Winston Churchill -- whose mumbling was as much a part of his character as his cigar. Expect a lot of yelling about events covered earlier this year in Dunkirk the Movie and, before that, The King's Speech. I was strapped in for a long two hours and five minutes, but I was far more entertained than I expected by Gary Oldham disappearing into the role of Churchill.

There were a lot of funny moments, pretty remarkable camera work and great performances by the supporting cast. Kristin Scott Thomas was especially great as the wife who seemed to provide the wisdom to match her husband's great speech-making. I don't want to give away too much, so I'll go back to praising Oldman. Not to take anything away from Ben Kingsley or Daniel Day Lewis, but those actors look a bit like Gandhi and Lincoln (respectively). Oldman doesn't share a single outward feature with Churchill, but portrayed him absolutely perfectly, both in the yelling and non-yelling phases of his performance. I was riveted, though I think the best bits were the brief scenes that happened at home or on the street -- outside the corridors of power. For me, it's a solid 8/10 and I don't think there's really a need to nominate anyone else for the Oscar for lead actor. When he wins, I look forward breaking out my copy of Sid & Nancy to remind myself of the full breadth of Oldman's remarkable acting career.