A really good film in every way and perhaps an important one for us all.

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2018)

It's not very often that I am glued to the screen throughout a film - there are usually bits when time drags, when the plot is muddled, the cinematography or sound didn't work well or actors did not jell in their parts. Not so in Darkest Hour. Almost everything about it was excellent. Every actor played their part superbly but Oldman's portrayal of Churchill was nothing short of amazing. It was never an actor playing Churchill, it really was Churchill! Sure, his makeup and prosthetics were beyond reproach but his voice, which is nothing like the actors voice, was absolutely consistent and accurate from start to finish.
The only issue I had with this film was the tube train scene. The screenwriter's research had revealed that Churchill did sometimes "disappear" into London and would sometimes talk to "ordinary people" to find out what they were thinking and this scene was a fiction based on that. It was however nauseating in the use of stereotypes of London "working class" people. And the bit where the black man played (I think) by Ade Haastrup completes a literary quote was particularly nauseating, implying that you would be surprised that a black person could do that. Might have got a 10 without that!
But, that aside and forgiven, this is a truly great film and if it doesn't get the awards it deserves then there is no justice! Sound quality which accounts for half of the watching experience was consistently good although there were some silly artificial boomy thumps through the sub-woofers for some reason - presumably a misguided attempt to remind the audience that Dolby Atmos was being used. Atmos doesn't need that - it's very good without gimmicks. Bruno Delbonell's Cinematography, especially his lighting, was as usual beyond reproach, bringing out the beautiful colour rendering with the Arri Alexa. Great that Delbonell used the amazing Cooke S4 lenses, made as they have been in Cooke's factory since 1880 in Leicester England.
All in all this is a superb film that, if there is any justice in this world, should bring in the awards. If the second world war means anything to you, I think this is an important film to see. An object lesson in pushing ahead with what is right and not bowing to peer pressure that governments would do well to reflect on.