Directed by Joe Wright
Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
Starring: Gary Oldman; Lily James; and Kristen Thomas
You can just hand the Oscar and Golden Globe and SAG Award to Oldman now. It is over and not even close.
This performance is top shelf.
The mumbling.
The hit or miss humor.
The walk.
The short temper.....he has Churchill down pat.
Then throw in a really good performance by Lily James as Ms Layton, Churchill's secretary,and other than his wife, she was his closest confidant.
As for the movie...it captures time and place well. It takes us through the hallways of the Parliament. Political negotiations. War time decisions as Churchill must decide to step to the table to negotiate a peace treaty with Hitler or continue to fight. It clearly shows the pressure he is under.
So it is an interesting story, yet it drags. At 2 hours and 10 minutes, you have a lot of deciding what to do...not doing much...being told he is crazy..and deciding what to do....all leading to his famous speech at Parliamant. I wish we would cut short the decisions and take us past the speech and lead us behind the scenes to when America jumps in, and then behind the scenes to victory. However maybe that will be for another time.
Still...the best performance of the year, and a true historic story. 3 1/2 out of 5 for The Darkest Hour.
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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