Expressionistic Churchill portrait with brilliant cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2018)

It's a very good film, that sometimes touches greatness.
I think most people who expect a conventional historical biopic misunderstand the film, when they only focus on 'realism' and how correct 'the facts' are represented and so on. "Darkest Hour" is stylistically the polar opposite of "Dunkirk". Joe Wright gave the story an expressionistic telling, while Christopher Nolan went for impressionism.
Joe Wright wants the audience to feel, what it felt like to be Winston Churchill for a specific month in 1940, when the fate of the world was decided. To achieve this 'going inside Churchill's mind' effect, Wright uses all the elements that are possible in cinema - and only in cinema - like editing, lighting, framing, music, sound design in a poetic and operatic way. In the first hour, this a thrillingly cinematic film, so rich and detailed, that it demands several viewings to fully appreciate its beauty. Especially in the scenes, when Churchill is more and more isolated and doesn't know what to do, the cinematography by the always-inventive French master Bruno Delbonnel perfectly translates his loneliness into images. You just feel like you are with Churchill in his 'darkest hours'. This is not an easy thing to achieve - and most historical epics fail at it - therefore the film should get more praise for its cinematic qualities. It mostly succeeds at giving you a feeling of the times and Churchill's situation.
It's a very entertaining film and it works not only because of Gary Oldman's masterful performance, but because of the whole approach. It's like Weimar Cinema or German Expressionism adapted for British historical drama, far more inventive and artful than "The King's Speech" for example. This is as far away from the realism of Ken Loach movies as you possibly can get - and I find that approach exciting and fresh.
Unfortunately it's not a flawless film. Many critics had a problem with the Shakespeare-inspired scene, where Churchill speaks to 'the British people' in the tube to better learn what they expect from him, just like "Henry V". The writing and direction in this important scene - which tries to illustrate the difference between a democratic mind and a dictator like Hitler - is so off, that it tuns into near-self-parody. I bet, that most critics, who dismissed this film, simply couldn't accept this big flaw, for example Mark Kermode. While I understand them, it didn't ruin the film for me, even if it is sad to see a masterpiece-in-the-making not reaching its full potential.
My question would be: Why did the very experienced producers Eric Fellner
and Tim Bevan not insist on re-shooting this scene ? Too expensive? Too little time ? It's a shame, because it probably will cost them the 'Best Picture' Academy Award. If they could have made this scene work and fixed a few other flawed moments, this would have been one of the strongest contenders this year. Only because of this scene, the otherwise well-written, suspenseful and funny screenplay didn't get any award nominations. Only because of this scene Joe Wright's exciting direction was totally ignored. But it you are able to look beyond this one failure of artistic judgment, then you still have a rich, funny and beautiful film, that might become a small classic.
The cinematography, the make-up and Gary Oldman should win Oscars.