ALSO SHOWING
Darkest Hour
Cert: PG; Now showing It was inevitable this biopic depicting a key World War II junction for Winston Churchill would scoop Bafta nominations. With nine in total, Darkest Hour’s biggest hope probably lies in the Best Actor category for Gary Oldman’s towering (and some might say shamelessly Oscar-baiting) turn as the D-Day prime minister.
Though it’d be a shame for other categories to go unrewarded. Bruno Delbonnel’s musty cinematography leaves the jaw on the floor and the sense of the era created by the set and costume design is tangible. As wife Clementine, Kristin Scott Thomas’s supporting role rightly got a Bafta nod, but alas there was none for the ever-reliable Ben Mendelsohn as George VI.
Ultimately, however, it’s The Oldman Show. For an actor whose early promise slid into lots of shouting and little subtlety, it’s remarkable to see him break the biggest sweat of his career as the croaking cigarchewer trying to second-guess Hitler and forge ahead following Chamberlain’s ousting.
Lily James charms as the new secretary dealing with the man’s gruff eccentricity. And director Joe Wright (who also made Atonement) shows the rows and tough calls in the war rooms beforehand.
Everything of course leads towards that speech, a stirring crescendo if ever there was one following ample helpings of tension and dry wit in Anthony McCarten’s screenplay. frame ratio, bringing an unflinching immediacy to the succession of tragedies. Underpinning the unhappiness are wafting flashbacks to sunnier times.
A Woman’s Life could be an oppressive cinema outing if the quality behind and in front of the camera wasn’t so magnetic. The tale — based on Guy de Maupassant’s 1883 debut novel — meshes the cold realities for women back then with strikingly timeless truths.