“Darkest Hour” was not one of my more anticipated films for this awards season but it completely blew me away. Although I have never been a history buff, this film helped to bring the complex political climate of WWII to life. It makes an amazing companion piece to Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" and the timing of their releases work in a perfectly complimentary way. While Nolan’s film portrays the battlefield action of the Dunkirk situation, “Darkest Hour” captures the behind-the-scenes political actions that determined the fate of the soldiers. The script makes these dry textbook events riveting through a long series of passionate speeches by Winston Churchill. The film was clearly written for Gary Oldman to receive an Oscar nomination and I have no doubt that it will work. In fact, he will win with this breathtaking performance. Each jaw-dropping speech is better than the last until the film reaches Churchill's history-changing speech to Parliament. With each speech also comes Oldman’s perfection of his character’s vocal tone, mannerisms, and occasional mumbling. The realism is further enhanced by a talented crew that spent over 200 hours applying makeup to literally transform him into Churchill. This film is 90% Gary Oldman but he receives strong support from Lily James. She provides the eyes through which we experience the story and uses this role to prove that her acting chops extend beyond Disney fairytales. Her performance in "Cinderella" was thoughtful and vivid but it was important for her to show her diversity as an actress with a role that takes on a completely different tone. Some of my characters came out of the fictional scene on the London Underground where Churchill gets to hear the opinions of his people. This scene is pure magic. The wonderful performances are tied together by a simple, beautiful soundtrack by Dario Marianelli that sets the mood for each scene with serenity and impending doom. Even though we see Churchill succeed, the film successfully maintains an overarching tone of the world events at play. “Darkest Hour” may seem dry at first glance but you will quickly latch on to the film’s hero through the unforgettable, impassioned monologues by Gary Oldman.
[Pictured: This film is all about Gary Oldman, his impassioned monologues, and his literal transformation into Winston Churchill]
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