A brilliant lead performance in a brilliant overall movie.

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2018)

'Darkest Hour' is written by Anthony McCarten and directed by Joe Wright. It also features easily the best performance of 2017 delivered by the always great Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. The film spans the time from Churchill's appointment as Prime Minister to his famous and powerful 'We shall fight them on the beeches' speech in the House of Commons. The cast is stellar all-round with Kristen Scott Thomas as Clementine Churchill, Lily James as Churchill's secretary Elizabeth Layton and Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI all giving remarkable performances. Then of course there is the tour de force that is Oldman at the centre of this fabulous ensemble.
The movie has more accomplishments than just its performances however. The screenplay in particular is sharp as well as informative- It is very easy in a film like this for the writer to lose the audience by including excessive political and/or military strategy jargon. Instead Anthony McCarten's dialogue is coherent and engaging and drives the plot forward at a brisk pace. The great writing is coupled with inspired direction from Joe Wright and stunning cinematography courtesy of Bruno Delbonnel. The use of light and shadow, the emotion-filled close-ups and the wonderful tracking shots give the film an admirable visual splendor and grace. The production and costume design are also not to be overlooked which together give the movie a very authentic 1940's look and feel to it.
For me, Gary Oldman's Churchill is as definitive as it gets up there with the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis's Lincoln and Meryl Streep's Margaret Thatcher. Thankfully he's also in one of the finest films of the year. I highly recommend 'Darkest Hour'.