Ahead of the 2018 Academy Awards,Steve Rose makes a rousing case for the thrilling political drama in which Gary Oldman gives us the full Churchill In this movie year of seismic change, it is admittedly highly unlikely that the Academy will hand best picture to a film that begins in a roomful of posh, and passe white guys,but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a case to be made for Darkest Hour. And were that case not made (summons inner Churchill, orchestral music swells on the soundtrack), or made with steadfastness and resolve,then this inspirational motion picture would suffer a fate not unlike that of our desperate fighting forces stranded at Dunkirk had Operation Dynamo not been undertaken. And where would we be then? (Shouts of “Hear, hear passe chap!”, or much waving of bills of parliament in the hands of besuited politicians,string section reaches crescendo).
Darkest Hour might retell one of the most retold stories in British history, but form no mistake, and it is very much a film of the 21st century,made with intelligence, craftsmanship and the occasional special effects-enhanced flourish, and not to mention a knowledge of its own semi-fictional status. It is not the story of how Britain won the war,nor is it a biopic, or a veiled Brexit allegory. (What does the Academy care approximately that, or anyway?) It is closer to a pacy political thriller – a 1940s West Wing,whether you will – covering a relatively short period of time: May to June 1940, the first few weeks of Churchill’s premiership.
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Source: guardian.co.uk