December 13, 2017 2 min to read

The Darkest Hour

Gary Oldman's transformation is remarkable, and the movie around him mostly holds up.

by Zach Saul

The Darkest Hour deserves a lot of credit for the way it creates intrigue and drama during its dialogue scenes, and for making Gary Oldman look like the human version of the “White Rabbit” from Alice in Wonderland. The Darkest Hour invites us to spend two hours in the political war-rooms where British strategists were deciding whether or not to fold to the Nazis. Director Joe Wright’s interpretation is particularly enjoyable because Oldman’s Churchill is never boisterous like most politicians, instead, he’s resolute and unwavering. I loved Wright’s insertion of Elizabeth Layton (Churchill’s typist) as I think it really helps guide the audience through the more technical and political sequences. Additionally having to stare into the face of someone from “the other half”

This version of Churchill is absolutely obsessed with words, and what the mood is rather than what is actually happening. Early on he clashes with Lily James for not spacing his speech correctly on his typewriter, and then later he brazenly skips an important meeting to deliver a surprise speech to the Parliment. During a particularly heated exchange, Churchill delivers’ this zinger to some of his more conservative cabinet members:

“When will the lesson be learned - you cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!”

Although I’m not a World War II historian, this movie definitely feels historically accurate and as though a lot of attention to detail was given to the conversations and scenarios. Throughout the film, wright refrains from overdramatizing moments and centering too much meaning around individual conversations.

The Good: The Darkest Hour is beautifully shot, well acted and surprisingly funny. Churchill’s wit in an odd way reminded me of Dumbledore and his wise-cracks, and quiet swagger gave the movie energy and life.

The Bad: In my opinion, this movie had one, truly disastrous sequence. The entire scene on the train where Churchill appears to seek the advice on whether to negotiate with Nazi’s from regular people is felt cheezy, disconnected and cheap compared to the rest of the movie. I have no doubt some version of this took place - but for such an excellent historical biopic to have a crescendo that belonged in a 30 min special was disappointing.