‘CHURCHILL’
Cast: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Julian Wadham (PG), 1:38
In terms of both narrative and nuance, “Churchill” has a limited scope. Director Jonathan Teplitzky and screenwriter Alex von Tunzelmann follow the English prime minister (Brian Cox) over the course of several days leading up to the D-Day invasion. Although that 1944 mission — dubbed Operation Overlord — was ultimately a success, Winston Churchill had his doubts, to the chagrin of the Allied High Command.
The film spends a lot of time dressing down its subject — Churchill argues with everyone in his immediate circle. Yet “Churchill” celebrates him anyway. The prime minister meets with generals — Eisenhower (John Slattery) and Montgomery (Julian Wadham) — begging them to find an alternative to a fullon assault.
Although everyone else, including King George (James Purefoy), agrees that it is the best shot at defeating Germany, Churchill protests and bellows. Meanwhile his wife, Clementine (Miranda Richardson), struggles to shape her husband into the man her country needs him to be, going so far as to work behind his back to scuttle his foolhardy ideas.
Cox plays the character as an aging, stubborn blowhard who can’t fathom why anyone might not take him seriously. He’s so ar- rogant that there is a perverse satisfaction in seeing Slattery’s Eisenhower knock him down a peg.
The supporting cast is lively and clever, which only serves to underscore the film’s limited curiosity about its main subject. At one point, there is a heated argument between Churchill and his wife. The Prime Minister is so upset he enters into a funk.
He may finally rise to the occasion over the course of the film, finding the necessary poise and leadership that Britain needs. But “Churchill” really seems to be about a man who is fondly remembered by default and because he was propped up by people stronger than he was.