Stirring and timely biopic of a true icon
Photographs of Winston Churchill sticking up two fingers to the advancing Nazi threat during the Second World War became defining images of British defiance, solidarity and resolve.
While the rest of Europe capitulated, the cigar-puffing statesman stood firm, inspiring citizens in one tub-thumping speech to “defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength”.
The 27 tumultuous days, which led to Churchill’s impassioned cry for the British to fight on the beaches and in the streets, is elegantly dramatised in Joe Wright’s handsomely crafted character study, Darkest Hour.
Based on a script by Anthony McCarten, this timely account of political hubris during bloodsoaked conflict is distinguished by a tour-de-force performance from Gary Oldman.
The film opens on May 9, 1940 during a particularly boisterous exchange in the House of Commons. Clement Attlee (David Schofield), leader of the opposition Labour Party, demands Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) stand down as Prime Minister for “leaving our nation ruinously unprepared to face the present Nazi peril”.
King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) subsequently invites Winston to form a government at a critical juncture in the fight against Hitler.
Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane) spearheads senior figures within the Conservative ranks, who expect Churchill to agree to talks with the Germans.
They are gravely mistaken and the new Prime Minister holds firm to his potentially tragic course, supported by his long-suffering wife Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas), snobbish private aide John Evans (Joe Armstrong) and new secretary Elizabeth Layton (Lily James).