Darkest Hour movie review

Here's what you need to know; it's 1940, and the unstoppable advance of the Nazis across Europe has sent the British Parliament into complete anarchy, forcing the resignation of the Prime Minister, and triggering the creation of a new Government, with Winston Churchill, the most hated man in the party, as PM. Churchill isn't prepared to let his detractors win however, as he defiantly pushes forward against the undefeatable Germans, still holding onto his belief that Britain should never bow to the Reich, but should resist its tyranny until the very end, even if the very end means the complete destruction of Britain itself.
I'd pretty much concluded that I'd not be watching this film in cinemas since I went to see Three Billboards a few weeks ago, given that I've been grinding away on Borderlands 2 since the start of December, but as usually happens, I took up the opportunity to go to the cinemas again and went to see this, an Oscar nominated political drama, I can imagine the person I saw it with wasn't expecting it to be so political.

The film's opening struck me immediately; with grainy black and white footage showcasing the Nazi's military might, the use of music in this sequence is fantastic, setting a very sombre and bleak tone that accompanies certain points of the film. I say only certain points because this film actually has humour in it, a surprising amount in fact; and unlike the last film I reviewed, and especially like the next, this one's actually funny. But the film doesn't overdo it, the comedy, while there, and effective, is sparse, Darkest Hour is a Drama and a Political Thriller, and it makes sure to stay on target for the vast majority of its runtime. This film is also very much about the politics; don't go into this film expecting a biopic about Winston Churchill, that's in here, but the film very specifically takes place in the early stages of him being PM, portraying the political crisis of the time, both the one coming from Europe, and the one coming from within the conservative party, as the knives come out against Churchill, it's nice to know that British politics hasn't changed. That however may work to the film's detriment, as this is a very political film; there's a lot of political jargon getting thrown around, and, it being a historical piece, a lot of references to real world people and events that will leave a casually viewer that doesn't care much for history a bit lost. The film's more intense moments usually take place inside the tight, claustrophobic, beautifully shot confines of the war rooms, so don't expect to see anything like Dunkirk or Saving Private Ryan, there's practically none of that here. A major subplot in this film is the conspiracy in the Conservative party to trigger a vote of no confidence, while also trying to pressure Churchill into entering negotiations with the Germans, Operation Dynamo A.K.A Dunkirk also has a big part to play in this film's story, and is a cool parallel on the events of the recent Dunkirk film, though the two aren't related. Also, like Dunkirk, the film doesn't stay entirely true to historical events, it goes off book in a few key scenes, this I'm alright with, since it's a film, and films generally need to take on some sort of narrative or dramatic structure, so as for them doing a bit of fictionalising to make the film more coherent, if anything it's a good thing, as it makes for a hyper badass ending speech, and a really sweet scene with Churchill on the London Underground, and I mean sweet in the mushy sense, unfortunately.

In addition to being heavily political, the film is also quite heavily dramatic, as Churchill takes on various forms of opposition, including but not limited to the threat of a coming German invasion, and the threat of him being ousted from his position as PM through political backstabbing. What's strange is the film's portrayal of Churchill himself, as the film doesn't portray him as a wise, kind old man, but instead as a mumbling, rude alcoholic with a temper and questionable judgement, in his first scene with Lily James, he makes her cry and run out of the room, though it is played for comedy. Churchill, despite being a twat in some scenes, is absolutely the highlight of the film, and naturally a huge part of that is Gary Oldman, who's practically unrecognisable in the role under all that makeup, and mumbling, but IRL Churchill was a mumbler, so that's bonus points. I found myself really liking Churchill in the film, as it delves into his reasoning for the actions he takes, and him and Lily James have some really good scenes together, as well as with Kristen Scott Thomas, who plays his wife. Possibly the second best thing in the film behind Churchill is Ben Mendelsohn as King George, who starts off on very rough terms with Churchill, but the evolution of their relationship from enemies to friends was really awesome to watch. The film also delves a bit into George and the reasons for his actions too, and it lends the film an excellent sense of scale, expanding its scope beyond the confines of the war rooms, as he is forced to also consider the prospect of his nation being invaded by the Germans, which, as well as expanding the film's scope, excellently adds a sense of bleakness that is reflected brilliantly in a few scenes throughout the film, including the opening. The film does however, surprisingly, have a lack of war scenes, clearly that's not the point of the film, but I was still surprised that this film didn't focus more on the war itself, it doesn't effect the film anyway, but it's definitely something to keep in mind if you want some excitement in your viewing experience, this film isn't very exciting. The film's characters really are the highlights, that and the excellent speech, damn that was a good speech, though it is a bit more dramatic in the film than it is in real life, just a bit.

Darkest Hour is a fascinating film; I can see this film easily boring a lot of casual movie goers with its intense focus on politics, but the drama and comedy redeem that political stuff, assuming it's not your cup of tea, I personally found it really interesting. But what really makes this film worth watching is it's cast; Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn, Lily James and Kristen Scott Thomas are all really, really good, particularly Ben Mendelsohn and, of course, Gary Oldman, who, if I gave a shit about the Academy Awards, would say deserves to win that best actor award, as he completely steals the show. Darkest Hour is not for everyone, but if you fancy a good drama that's excellently performed, of you fancy a bit of politics that isn't complete bullshit, Darkest Hour's for you, I'd say it's worth watching.