Darkest Hour

I was wary about Joe Wright's new film Darkest Hour for two reasons; the current political climate is strongly opposed to men like Winston Churchill, and Wright made a film a few years back called Atonement, which I really disliked.  Both my concerns were unwarranted; Wright has made a masterful film about a the greatest hero of the last century.  The film covers just the right scale, focusing on the behind-the-scenes details of Churchill taking over the office of Prime Minister.  There are enough shots of the battlefield to give historical context, but Wright cleverly uses a bird's eye view to make it clear that Churchill must consider the entire scope of his decisions.  Wright balances  Churchill's abrasive persona by highlighting two close relationships; one with his wife, and one with the young country girl who types his speeches.  In a lesser film (such as Atonement) this technique would have slipped into cliché, but here Wright finds just the right note, and we gain a greater appreciation for the context in Churchill's words and actions.  I would be remiss not to mention Gary Oldman's performance, and the makeup, which paired to truly bring Churchill to the screen.  Jude and I recently watched Leon the Professional, and the other night our entire family watched The Dark Knight - Gary Oldman has taken on some challenging roles, but the way he embodies Churchill is truly amazing.  I was moved by the powerful speeches, admittedly the source material and my admiration of Churchill was a contributing factor, but Oldman brought it home.

Back in 2010 I wrote Against the Grain, which covers some the same ideas that Darkest Hour focuses on, primarily that Churchill was precisely the man that the world needed at a turning point in history.  Read the paper.  See the movie.