ANOTHER TRIUMPH FOR CHURCHILL
PHOTOS of Winston Churchill sticking up two fingers to the advancing Nazi threat during World War II became defining images of British defiance, solidarity and resolve.
While the rest of Europe capitulated to the Deutsches Reich, 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 character study. Based on a script by Anthony McCarten, this timely account of political hubris during blood-soaked conflict is distinguished by a tour-de-force performance from Gary Oldman, which earned him a Best Actor Golden Globe.
Concealed behind layers of make-up and latex, the London actor surely has one hand on an Academy Award for his mesmerising embodiment of the rotund statesman.
Oldman delivers Churchill’s public addresses with lip-smacking relish but it’s in the film’s quieter moments, when he stares into the hollowed eyes of self-doubt, that his performance delivers knockout blows.
The film opens on May 9, 1940, during a 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 Nazis. One notable absentee from Conservative benches is Churchill.
Sir Anthony Eden (Samuel West) whispers to a parliamentary colleague that Winston is “ensuring his fingerprints aren’t on the murder weapon” shortly before Chamberlain confirms his intention to resign.
King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) invites Churchill 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.
A timely lesson for the political guard of every hue as we face a different showdown with European neighbours.