A real superhero: Churchill
DARKEST HOUR
G ARY Oldman hasn’t done a deep dive into a character for years, but he makes up for lost time with a spectacular performance as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, rousing the country to fight the Nazis against all odds at the start of World War II. He makes a must-see out of “Darkest Hour,” an otherwise serviceable period drama and companion piece to Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” set during the same time frame on that besieged French beach.
Oldman, nimbly emoting from beneath thinning hair, eye bags, cheek bags, multiple chins and (maybe) prosthetic layers of fat, gives new life to one of history’s most examined icons — no small feat. Introduced while lighting a cigar and sitting in the corner of a pitch-black room (director Joe Wright isn’t subtle with the symbolism), Oldman’s Churchill is an unkempt, unstoppable, often unlikable force whose spirited wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) frequently urges him to take a softer touch. He bellows at his new typist (Lily James) and rebuffs the request of King George (Ben Mendelsohn) for a weekly afternoon meeting immediately after the monarch appoints him prime minister: “I nap at 4,” he says, with a shrug and a swig of whiskey.
Churchill’s famous words urging his countrymen and government “to wage war against a monstrous tyranny,” in his first speech, are powerfully delivered by an actor at the top of his game. Oldman’s Oscar clip is sure to be a presumably fictitious, nevertheless stirring scene, in which he takes a ride on the London Underground to survey riders on whether to appease Hitler or fight the fascists. It’s an exhilarating contrast to the weak-sauce caped crusaders who arrived at the box office last week. For a more convincing (if selectively edited) portrait in heroism, look no further than “Darkest Hour.” Running time: 125 minutes. Rated PG-13 (profanity, violence). Now playing. — Sara Stewart