An Oscar Worthy Performance

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2017)

Gary Oldman is brilliant in Darkest Hour, he becomes one of most important figures of the 20th century so effectively that I forgot I was watching a movie for a few moments. Oldman's Churchill is fighting a war not only with Germany, but with his own government, who are desperate for peace and appeasement. Churchill was willing to make the hard choices when few wanted to face the reality of the situation Britain was in at the dawn of the war.
Joe Wright puts together an excellent film that is not solely dependent on Oldman's performance. Wright captures the mood of England shortly before the war had actually begun to have a huge impact on everyday life. The threat of war was still just a looming darkness in the east, which was why Chamberlain and others were so convinced peace was possible.
In addition to Oldman, the rest of the cast performed well, in particular Ben Mendelsohn. Mendelsohn was outstanding as King George VI, the role that won Colin Firth an Oscar in The King's Speech. He perfectly incorporated the lisp into his speech patterns, and he also carried himself like the King who never expected to be King. All in all, Darkest Hour was one of the best films of the year and I would be shocked if Oldman doesn't go home with the Oscar.