Go Gary!

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2018)

Of course it was a magnificent performance from the always great Gary Oldman. I think we always knew it was going to be the case. From the trailers and from a long history of fine performances from the man.
It was easy to forget it was actually him with all the blubber around his jowls, taking on the doubters all around him as he tries desperately to find a way to lift the mood of the nation with the mighty German army about to push the last of the British troops into the sea on the northern coast of France.
It was almost a behind-the-scenes sequel to the movie Dunkirk as we work towards the civilian fleet sailing off across The Channel to pick up the stranded soldiers.
And thanks for the help America!
They certainly build the mood nicely as we feel the pressure mounting on Mr Winston, who has to make some pretty tough decisions with a war cabinet pressing for a peace deal with Hitler.
"YOU CANNOT REASON WITH A TIGER WHEN YOUR HEAD IS IN ITS MOUTH!", he screams at Chamberlain and Halifax.
Given my knowledge of the big cat family, I'm not sure you can reason with a tiger at any time actually. But then again, maybe with a nice juicy steak. Hitler of course was a famous vegetarian, so I don't think a 12oz ribeye would do the trick.
Of course there were some fine performances from the supporting cast too. Ducky from Four Weddings was superb in her part as Mrs Churchill, as well as Aussie Ben Mendelson in his role as the King.
I do have to wonder if anybody in the 1940's could actually pronounce their R's properly. Or should I say 'pwoperly'. Many of the characters seemed to suffer from this.
It was also interesting to see the internal anguish that Winston was going through after being thrown in at the deep end. Because of course, we all know how it all turned out so it's easy to forget just how hard those tough decisions of sending men to certain death must have been for a man trying to save a nation.
But thanks to a scene with Winston talking to the the real people on the ground, or rather Underground, it was made clear that the British people would rather die than bow down to fascists.
Upon looking up whether this situation actually took place, it appears it didn't, but rather was put in for dramatic effect. However, it very well could have in a different way given Mr Churchill's tendency to go missing on occasion and apparently often to go talking to your every day person on the street. Either way, it was a fantastic scene that summed up the resolve of the British people at a very dark time.
Mr Oldman must surely be up for an award, if not the top award for his portrayal of the man who refused to bow down to tyranny marching its way across Europe.