The below review is written by Tom Bonnington and does not represent the views of Casemate Publishers.
Darkest Hour stars Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill and chronicles what he did during the first few weeks of his premiership while the Germans were inflicting heavy defeats in France.
The weeks which followed May 10th 1940 have passed into British folklore. There was the incredible success of Dunkirk along with a succession of brilliant speeches by Churchill. Phrases such as ‘I have nothing to offer you but blood, toil, sweat and tears’ and ‘We shall fight them on the beaches’ remain some of the most famous sayings in the British lexicon.
The danger of a biopic about Churchill is trying not to fall into the clichés we have developed for his character. Darkest Hour fails to do this repeatedly, portraying Churchill as both a bit of a bumbling oaf and an eccentric maverick. Scenes have Churchill walking through his house barefoot clothed only in a dressing gown being chased by people asking him what his next move is before he reveals his next idea of genius. It is something straight out of Hollywood, not Downing Street. And when Churchill practises his speech with his secretary – him in the bath, her speaking through the door – he dramatically leaves and walks out naked as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. They’re trying to make him into a loveable rogue of course, but it just comes across as shallow characterisation and lazy writing.
The tragedy is the real character of Churchill was far more fascinating than the pantomime version he is here. One of his greatest strengths, his contemporaries said of his war years, was surrounding himself with excellent people so he could make well informed decisions. He was known for starting arguments just to test their ideas, which could often prove exasperating for those arguing with him. This historical Churchill is sadly missing, replaced with a fantasy character who trusts only his own iron judgment. It’s an attribute which his German opponent is said to have had.
There is a scene which takes place on the London Underground where Churchill asks the public whether they want to continue fighting Hitler, and they all greet him with an enthusiastic ‘gaun and kick him up the arse guvna’. Every British stereotype is milked here for all its worth. The plucky Brit of World War Two who ‘kept calm and carried on’. Of course, in reality, many were petrified of another war, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It is a horrible business. It was twenty years after the Great War, a conflict which had almost destroyed an entire generation of young men. This scene (which of course never happened) is another example of this film’s odd pantomime childlike quality.
The film has received most plaudits for the performance of Gary Oldman and while he is a fairly good Churchill, the intonation of his voice is often inaccurate, especially for some of his most famous speeches. He also overeggs some of the mannerisms and despite the remarkable makeup, he doesn’t quite convince as the man recently voted the greatest ever Brit.
Darkest Hour is a very straightforward unambitious biopic which never really gets out of second gear to have moments of true drama. These few weeks in 1940, remember, were when Britain was on the brink more than ever before, yet there is not that sense of dread which must have existed in the minds of the citizens who knew this war was going to be a long, deadly struggle.
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