A respectable, realistic and narrowly focused film

Rating: 6/10 (14 January 2018)

Darkest Hour focuses on a few characters and issues, and is effective in what it does, but that is limited. Oldman does live up to the hype and has a strong performance, and is very likely to win Best Actor as a result. The themes focused on were very specific and the same viewpoints were considered over and over. It's not that the ideas of never giving in, and staying true to your values always aren't great themes, but I didn't see lots of development beyond the simple points or characters that were very dynamic in considering the issues. The story arc wasn't great, as people seemed to be very against Churchill for being too aggressive, and as he continues to be aggressive and take losses, people seem to side with him and support him in the end. I didn't think the political explanations for how things occurred were great, and some of the stylistic choices seemed strange. For example, why was the typewriter a character of emphasis? Despite being a very narrowly focused film in May 1940 Britain, it was fairly enjoyable to watch and for the most part a believable depiction, thanks to Oldman's performance.