"This is a film about resistance."

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2017)

At the Paris Theater premiere in NYC last night, Joe Wright concluded his introduction by saying, "This is a film about resistance." That brought immediate and enthusiastic response from the crowd. Oldman gives a stunning performance, but the entire ensemble is clearly caught up in the relevance of the work, not a false note anywhere. Powerful film celebrating Churchill as in touch with the resilience and grit of working class commoners. The villains here are the snobbish pacifist appeasers. Hard to say what American audiences will make of this. It could go either way. There's enough populist ammunition here to leave a huge chunk of the American political landscape as devastated as the castle in Calais.