No Small Talk Here

Rating: 7/10 (24 December 2017)

GRADE: B-
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: A solid performance by Gary Oldman makes this talky but always engrossing bio-pic work.
SYNOPSIS: The first month of Winston Churchill's leadership as Prime Minister.
JIM'S REVIEW: The filmed biography is an odd lot. It begins at a disadvantage from the start. Whereas a biographical novel can leisurely tell its tale with highly detailed research that spans a lifetime, the movie version usually is conventional storytelling with condensed timelines and hastily constructed dramatic flourishes, blurring facts and fiction and purporting to be true. Labeled as "based on a true story" is oft times misleading. Such is the case of Joe Wright's Darkest Hour, a well crafted and earnest attempt to tell the political beginnings of World War II and the early career of Sir Winston Churchill, as England's Prime Minister.
An unrecognizable Gary Oldman plays an unrecognizable Churchill. (Much has been said about the astonishing resemblance of the actor to this great man. But he barely resembles the Prime Minister, no matter what others may say. Make-up and prosthetics never fully capture the likeness of the man, although they come very close at times. But the actor certainly captures the mannerisms, voice, stance, and temperament of this crusader. It's a virtuoso performance that one can easily admire.
The film delves into the first month of Churchill's career as he tries to convince Parliament and his nation of the rise of Hitler and the risk of losing his beloved country to the Nazi movement. War is the only outcome in his mind and uniting his country against these forces is an uphill battle. Andrew McCarten plays fast and loose with the facts, but follows the basic outline of historical events. (Case in point: A mawkish ride on the Underground overplays the nationalistic fervor and seems very stilted and untrue, even if this scene makes its political argument and justification of the pending war.) Darkest Hour is rather talky and overtly dogmatic, with various impassioned speeches about survival and courage, amid all of the political intrigue and one-upmanship.
Mr. Wright's direction remains solid, although he again relies too heavily on slo-motion techniques, long tracking shots, and never-ending aerial photography, his trademark signatures, which becomes a bit tiresome. However, he assembles a fine cast that take these stock characters and breathes life into their stereotypical roles.
Kristin Scott Thomas masterfully plays his loyal wife, Clemmie, and she delivers an aristocratic elegance as his devoted spouse. Lily James is his supportive secretary, an embodiment of the English middle class and sounding board to Churchill's mood swings. Stephen Dillane and Ronald Pickup are just fine as his adversaries, Viscount Halifax and former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Ben Mendelsohn, as King George VI, brings the perfect degree of trepidation and concern, always questioning the unpleasantry and motives of another equally powerful man who ruled England with him.
But it is Mr. Oldman who centers the film in this showiest of role. Without his whole-hearted interpretation of a man defending his unpopular position as a war hawk during a time when the world prayed for peace, the movie could not have achieve its overall impact. Darkest Hour is a seriously minded film that contemplates the beginnings of World War II and the man who took his nation to victory.
ANY COMMENTS: Please contact me at: jadepietro@rcn.com