Delivers everything you want from a prestige historical biopic

Rating: 8/10 (27 February 2018)

As prestige pictures go, they don't get more prestigious than "Darkest Hour," a British historical World War II biopic about one of the most frequently quoted and depicted figures in history with a transformative performance at its center. If you want the antithesis of independent filmmaking, here it is - the steak and potatoes of dramatic cinema.
Thankfully, the steak is a perfect medium and the potatoes are well-seasoned under the watch of director Joe Wright ("Atonement," "Anna Karenina"). Wright is known for being a bit artistically aggressive rather than subtle, but that style complements the highly intellectual, conversational and strategy-focused script from Anthony McCarten ("The Theory of Everything"). He takes a film that could've been utterly boring and gives it movement and vibrancy.
"Darkest Hour" depicts the events of May 1940, starting with the stepping down of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) and the appointment of Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman), the only member of his party whom the opposition would support. The move comes as British forces are surrounded by the Nazis in Dunkirk, France and the war seems just about lost. Although Churchill stands resolute against his party's wishes to entered peace negotiations with Hitler, the situation grows more dire by the day, and the pressure mounts for him to cave.
An almost unrecognizable Oldman is the film's centerpiece and lynchpin all in one. Unlike many prosthetics-laden performances, the makeup is so painstakingly and precisely applied that it never calls attention to itself and allows Oldman to full realize his interpretation of Churchill. Oldman gives us both the bold and bullish, cigar-smoking and liquor-swilling orator of historic lore, and also a man with doubts. The script definitely casts Churchill in a favorable light, and perhaps historians will take issue with it, but there's plenty of room for nuance and Oldman really revels in those moments as much if not more than the big speeches.
Oldman's performance is the sun, but some of the other supporting players in his orbit leave memorable impressions, including Stephen Dillane ("Game of Thrones") as Viscount Halifax, Kristin Scott Thomas as Clemmie and Ben Mendelsohn ("Rogue One") as King George VI. Still, without shoehorning in Churchill's typist (Lily James) whom he technically did not employ until 1941, "Darkest Hour" would be a lot of white men talking.
Wright does a lot to keep "Darkest Hour" visually engaging, be it through use of camera dollies in tight spaces or CGI aerial views of cities and towns to convey a sense of place when talk of strategy desensitizes us from the actual stakes. Still, the film is meant to explore the behind-the-scenes conversations in places of power and convey the extent to which Great Britain nearly gave up. While the whole country was swept up in rhetoric of hope, the film makes us privy to the fear and weakness behind the curtain.
"Darkest Hour" as a film caves a bit too - to storytelling devices all too familiar in prestige pictures. The script contrives unlikely scenarios, such as a scene when Churchill rides the Underground, and even attempts to conclude on an inspirational high note with a sweeping speech. The film is better than those crutches, yet nevertheless it uses them.
Yet "Darkest Hour" can also hang its top hat on incredible production design (Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer) and cinematography (Bruno Delbonnel). These aesthetics alone, especially as they bolster Oldman's unforgettable performance, imbue the film with an energy that commands our attention. For an old-fashioned historical biopic, "Darkest Hour" checks all the right boxes and flat-out delivers on that esteemed, high-brow entertainment.
~Steven C
Thanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more