DARKEST HOUR : Saturday 27th January 2018.

I saw the highly lauded and critically acclaimed WWII British drama film 'DARKEST HOUR' at the weekend, as Directed by Joe Wright, whose previous Directorial credits include 2005's 'Pride & Prejudice', 2007's 'Atonement', 2011's 'Hanna' and 2012's 'Anna Karenina' amongst a few others. The film received its World Premier screening at the Telluride Film Festival in early September last year and was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival later that same month. It went on wide release Stateside just before Christmas and in the UK and Australia earlier in January. The film cost US$30M to make and has so far grossed US$99M, picking up a swathe of awards along the way too including so far 29 wins and 60 other nominations including six Academy Award and nine BAFTA nominations yet to be determined. Most notably, Gary Oldman has so far received 23 Best Actor award wins from around the circuit for his convincing rendition as Winston Churchill . . . and counting!

The film takes place over just three weeks in May 1940. As the film opens up, the Nazi forces are advancing rapidly on Belgium, Holland and France leaving a trail of destruction and occupation behind them. In London's Houses of Parliament, the Labour Party Opposition Leader demands the resignation of the then Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) because seemingly he doesn't have the wherewithal to protect the security of Britain from the advancing threat of Nazi Germany. Chamberlain advises his Conservative Party colleagues that he wants for Edward Wood, Lord Halifax (Stephen Dilate) as his successor, but Halifax declines citing that his time has not yet come. This leaves Chamberlain no option but to choose the only other candidate that the other parties will support in a Coalition Government, Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman). King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) reluctantly invites Winston Churchill to form a new Government but states that it must include Neville Chamberlain (whom he is a supporter of) and Lord Halifax (whom he is close and trusted friend of). Secretly King George wants Halifax to be Prime Minister.

Going into Parliament for his inaugural speech Churchill is already on the back foot with many of his political peers. His track record is not so hot - the failed Gallipoli Campaign, his support of King Edward VIII during his abdication crisis, his opposition of Indian self-government, and that he twice has 'crossed the floor' already. His first speech does not garner much support, and his point blank refusal to negotiate with Hitler on peace talks also incites the ire of many who see this as the only solution to avoid annihilation.

He firmly believes that the Germans can't be trusted, and so he meets with the recently sworn in French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, in which Churchill discounts any claims that the Allied Forces are staring down the barrel of defeat in the Battle for France. Halifax and Chamberlain agree that France is losing their battle against the Nazi's, and the surrender of Holland and Belgium is already looming ever closer. They try to persuade Churchill to engage with an Italian Ambassador who will act as the go between in peace talks between he and Hitler.  Halifax and Chamberlain plan to resign from office if Churchill refuses to enter into peace talks with Germany, which would result in a vote of no confidence so paving the way for Halifax to become Prime Minister. Churchill goes live on radio with a broadcast stating that all is not lost in France and the Allied Forces are pushing back against the German War Machine and that everyone at home can rest easy in their beds (or words to that effect!).

Meanwhile, with the advancing Germans well into French territory, the might of the British Armed Forces is forced back into a very tight corner at Dunkirk and Calais. Acting against the advice of his War Cabinet, Churchill orders that 4,000 holed up soldiers in Calais distract the German forces away from Dunkirk in order that they can be evacuated from the beach there. It means potentially sacrificing the 4,000 Calais contingent into a suicide mission in order that 300,000 British soldiers can be rescued. A prospect that does not sit well with Halifax or Chamberlain, but Churchill has little alternative in such desperate circumstances.

He initiates 'Operation Dynamo', launching a flotilla of countless small pleasure craft and motor boats and yachts to head to Dunkirk across the English Channel with all haste to rescue the British troops trapped there. This incidentally was the very subject of Christopher Nolan's excellent 'Dunkirk' film of last year, which explored the evacuation from three perspectives - the land, the sea and the air, and Joe Wright also covered the Dunkirk evacuation in his earlier film 'Atonement'. As news filters through that Belgium has surrendered, and in all likelihood France will do so very soon too, Churchill calls US President Franklin D. Roosevelt for assistance with a number of war ships to help defend Britain from the German onslaught which now appears to be imminent. Roosevelt however, declines, citing that his hands are tied by a series of Acts passed in the 1930's preventing the United States from entering into costly disputes with far away nations.

The defeat in France, the ongoing evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk which had yet to be proven successful, and the rising probability of a German invasion onto British soil results in the War Cabinet overwhelmingly voting for a peaceful negotiation with Hitler, with certain conditions attached including that Britain shall remain independent. One evening, King George VI unexpectedly visits Churchill, and pledges his support in fighting the Germans at all costs. King George had thought long and hard about fleeing Britain for Canada to rule in exile from there in the event of a German invasion, but decided against that notion. Spurred on by the King's commitment of support, Churchill  does something he has never done before. He takes a London Underground Tube ride to Westminster. Between stations he talks to members of the British public about their mood, and their preparedness to live potentially under German rule. Overwhelmingly, the men and women, old and young that he talks to, agree to fight, rejecting all notions of a peaceful negotiation and surrender.

Arriving at Westminster to address Parliament, Churchill first gathers his Outer Cabinet and any other hangers on, to seek their support to reject any further discussions about a negotiated peace, but rather to stand up and fight. All those gathered offer their agreement. Before going into Parliament to hear Churchill's address, Halifax demands of Chamberlain his commitment to continue with their plan to dispose him.  Chamberlain, stalls and is having second thoughts, saying to wait until after the Prime Minster has spoken.

Churchill stirs Parliament with a rousing speech that culminates with 'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and . . . ' At this, and with rapturous applause from the stalls and gallery, Chamberlain forgoes his plan to depose of Churchill, leaving Halifax rejected. Churchill departs. It is the 4th June 1940, and Churchill remains Prime Minister for the remaining five years of WWII until the Allies declare Victory over Germany in May 1945, but he was unsuccessful in securing a further term in the General Election held in July 1945. Chamberlain died of cancer in November 1940, and Halifax was offered a posting to become the Ambassador to the United States. The Dunkirk Evacuation under Operation Dynamo, was a huge success rescuing some 340,000 troops using a flotilla of some 800 civilian boats.

Kristin Scott Thomas also stars at Clementine Churchill, the rock behind Winston, and Lily James as Elizabeth Layton, the Secretary to Churchill, who joins him on his first day in office as Prime Minister.

This is Gary Oldman's film without doubt. He chews up every scene in which he appears either sucking on his trademark cigar or sipping a large Scotch or both - no matter what time of day or night, or what the circumstance may be. The accolades bestowed upon him are well deserved as he adds gravitas to the character and delivers a nuanced performance whether its his laconic sense of humour, the moments of self doubt, his mood swings, the intimate times with his wife and immediate family, his intelligence shining through in times of crisis, or his ability to wordsmith with the best orators in the land. And Joe Wright has delivered too another highly polished offering combining historical fact and fiction into an engrossing film that captures the look, feel and mood of Britain at this pivotal moment in history. Don't go into this film expecting all the action of Nolan's 'Dunkirk' - here the action is largely confined to a war of words and emotion that Churchill was renowned for, and for standing his ground even though all those others around him were trying to topple him. A film perhaps best suited to those mature enough to remember the war years or our school history lessons or those from that era, and less so for the millennials that may find the film too labouring, not enough action, and less than relevant in their world of today. If you don't see this film for any reason other than Gary Oldman's performance, then that is good enough reason.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-