Tag: Britain

EMPIRE OF LIGHT – Review

So could an underlying theme connect several film releases over the past year? Quite possibly, as this new work arrives right between two works that embrace the nostalgia of cinema itself. A few weeks ago, audiences got a glimpse into the early inspirations of one of our most celebrated filmmakers in THE FABELMANS, which reflected on the artist’s influences from the early 1950s into the next decade. And in a week we’ll get another director’s look back into the late 1920s and early 1930s when Hollywood was thought of as a modern-day BABYLON. Now, this drama jumps ahead in time from both, as it takes place during the early 1980s, just a few years before another blockbuster that would spawn a sequel this year. Another big difference is that this new flick is more about the finished products rather than the making of the movies. In fact, it’s about a movie palace that showcased them, a towering EMPIRE OF LIGHT.

That theatre is really called the Empire, and in 1981 it’s the jewel of the seaside boardwalk in Margate, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent catering to many Brits on “holiday’ along with throngs of “locals”. The staff is mostly comprised of college-aged teens looking for a job before their big careers. But for two workers there it’s almost become their “legacy”. High above the “broom-pushers” and “popcorn-fillers” is the aloof prickly projectionist Norman (Toby Jones), but keeping the guests happy is long-timer/co-ordinator Hilary (Olivia Colman). Unfortunately she’s also “tasked” with keeping her boss “happy” as she becomes a sexual plaything for the theatre’s married manager/director Mr. Ellis (Colin Firth). Hilary never complains as she spends her days shuffling from the theatre to her lonely apartment. And then her routine changes when she meets the newest “hire”, a sensitive and smart young man named Stephan (Michael Ward). With the changing social and political climate, the small-town thugs and “skinheads” place a target on black men like him. And though they’re from different backgrounds and eras (the whole May/December thing), Hilary begins a passionate secret love affair with Stephan. However, when the local hooligans storm the Empire and attack him, this shatters her delicate psyche, sending her into a mental health crisis. Not long after Mr. Ellis announces that the Empire will be part of a “shared” nationwide premiere of the new “prestige” picture CHARIOTS OF FIRE. Can Hilary control her inner demons and join Stephan for the big event?

Thsi heartfelt “memory piece” provides a powerful showcase for the always superb Ms. Colman, adding another complex character to her impressive resume. She projects a real warmth as Hilary to her co-workers, almost becoming their “work mum” while being the consummate “team player. This adds to our shock as we see her abused and exploited by her selfish “superior”. When she meets her “soul mate” Colman lets us see that the spark in Hilary’s often tired eyes as be rekindled, then we see it neatly snuffed out when the intolerant outside forces intrude and push her into an abyss of despair and delusion. Ward is soulful and sympathetic as the kind newcomer who touches Hilary’s fragile heart, merging with her rather than using her like the detestable Ellis, given an arrogant sneer and pompous demeanor by the talented Firth who treats the big “premiere” as his big chance to elevate his social and economic status. For him, Hilary is a mere “stress reliever’ who must toil in “the trenches” until his urges take control. Some much-needed comic relief is provided by Jones whose Norman sees himself as the king of his tiny “nerve center” of the cinema priding himself over his attention to perfect focus and split-second “reel changes”.

Writer/director Sam Mendes takes a hiatus from his big blockbusters like 1917 and the Bond franchise for a “deep dive’ into 1980s film cultures and the swirling political landscape of the time. We get the impression that he commenting about the current “climate”, but he “hammers” away at it, often intruding on the character study at the story’s center. Mendes sets us up for a whimsical nostalgic romp, then abruptly switches gears into a “forbidden” love story which leads to a plunge into madness. Of course, an exploration of mental health issues can illuminate, but here it seems to provide several big dramatic and awkward sequences with little insight, as with Hilary’s intrusion into Ellis’ premier triumph. It also chips away at the romance between her and Stephan which has little direction and appears to “spin its wheels” during the last act. As stated earlier, Colman is superb, but the script structure really leaves her adrift. Finally, her big elevation feels forced and more than a bit contrived when she finds her “sanctuary”, not a church but a true EMPIRE OF LIGHT.

2.5 Out of 4

EMPIRE OF LIGHT is now playing in select theatres

TOGETHER – Review

(l-r) Sharon Horgan and James McAvoy in Stephen Daldry’s TOGETHER.
Photo credit: Peter Mountain / © Arty Films Ltd. 2021. Courtesy of Bleecker Street.

Pandemic lock-down was such a universal experience that it was inevitable there would be a film about it. James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan star in TOGETHER, award-winning director Stephen Daldry’s (BILLY ELLIOT, THE HOURS) take on that. The film follows a British couple from the beginning of lock-down to the present, as they shelter in place with their young son, taking us through the many shared experiences of the pandemic and the particular personal struggles of this family. The problem is that the unnamed couple McAvoy and Horgan play are notably irritating people who hate each other and complain vehemently to us, the audience, about their mutual dislike. Daldry’s film is being billed as a comedy but it is more of the uncomfortable humor type in this lock-down tale with a couple who acknowledge they already hate each other even as the door slams shut.

There is a kind of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” vibe to this tale and it also quickly becomes clear we, the audience, are in for a bumpy night, or at least for the hour and a half of the film’s running time.

What makes this film worth watching are the sterling performances. McAvoy and Horgan are put through their actor’s paces, as they go through a year of pandemic, experiences that changes them individually and their relationship. Although McAvoy is the better known actor, he is well-matched with Horgan, who gives as good as she gets, balancing their fiery, snarky back-and-forth. At first the complaints are all about each other but slowly they turn their focus to the pandemic itself, brilliantly conveying the fears, the anger, the pressures, the anguish and the all the subtle changes wrought by lock-down and the pandemic. In the hands of lesser actors, this immersion in their toxic relationship would have been unbearable but McAvoy and Horgan create an appeal beyond the crusty surface.

Stylistically, TOGETHER startles us from the start. As almost as soon as McAvoy reaches the couple’s kitchen, he turns and addresses the camera, reeling off a list of things he hates about her. At first, we don’t know if this is an internal dialog we are hearing, as she ignores him, but soon Horgan turns to the camera with her list of reasons she hates him. They then alternate between complaining to each other about the other, or appealing to us for support of their viewpoint. They seem only to agree on how much they despise the other. It leaves the audience feeling like the friend listening to a couple he/she knows bickering, a couple who take turns appealing to the friend for validation. A decidedly squirm-inducing situation.

TOGETHER is a very dialog heavy film, basically a filmed play, but that seems appropriate for its subject. With that much dialog, good acting is critical but fortunately James McAvoy, using his little-heard natural Scottish accent, and Sharon Horgan are excellent. Although essentially a filmed play, clever photography and colorful set decoration and costuming help distract us from that, keeping the focus on the actors and the unfolding crisis or moment.

Why would you agree to lock-down with someone you hate? The unnamed couple claim that they are staying together for their son (Samuel Logan), who is called Arthur by his mother and Artie by his father, but that seems unconvincing. They are mismatched from the start. She is a liberal who works for a non-profit doing social aid work, the daughter of a dentist and a mother she describes as “old school communist.” He is a conservative, who came from the working classes but is now a successful entrepreneur, who brags about his Mercedes and wealth and disparages those who do not pull themselves up by their bootstraps as lazy. He accuses her of being “holier-than-thou” and she accuses him of being cold-hearted. Why they are together is a mystery but it quickly becomes clear that this couple has co-exited in this state of mutual loathing for some time, and we suspect they both get something out of this hostile relationship.

As the lock-down starts, the couple tell us they have made the decision not to include their son’s sole surviving grandparent, her mother, in their sheltering-in-place pod .They argue her mother, who has multiple health issues, she is better off with her visiting caregivers. They hope to move her to a nursing home, called a care home in Britain, where she “will be safe.”

Even though this film is set in Great Britain, the shared experiences of pandemic are much the same as here. We start with the rush to lock-down, toilet paper shortages and store shelves picked clean, The film then takes us through the unfolding pandemic chronologically, in periodic vignettes, each starting with a text showing the current number of COVID cases in Britain, and later vaccinations. At first all their venom is directed towards each other, along with shock at empty grocery shelves and similar shortages. They don’t know how long lock-down will last but seem to believe it can’t last that long, As the COVID horror unfolds and cases soar, they become more fearful, and more anger shift towards government’s poor response, the breakdown in supply chains, and then devastating decisions about nursing homes, as they are soon able to move her mother to one.

While the couple continue to complain about each other and over-share about their sex lives, eventually the sheer weight of all that is happening during the pandemic shifts their viewpoint, and they start to think more beyond themselves. James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan are excellent and riveting in this film, fiery and caustic to start, outraged at the situation and the lack of preparedness on the part of government, and heartbroken and helpless as the pandemic reaches into their lives. There is a heartbreaking scene where human touch would matter so much but the need to self-isolate prevents it. McAvoy subtly shifts his character from hard arrogance to a more human, emotional view, a moving and touching transformation. Horgan likewise softens her judgementalness, forced to face that not all is in her control and that she has flaws like anyone. There is a moment of elation as the vaccines are distributed, before frustration emerges when vaccine refusals stymies hopes to quickly get back to normal. The film ends with the characters feeling that the pandemic experience has changed things, although there is a lingering suspicion it hasn’t.

Stephen Daldry’s tale gives us a high-energy recap of our shared pandemic experience, spiked with incisive insights, through the evolving relationship of a sharp-tongued couple, an experience greatly enhanced by shining performances by James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan. TOGETHER opens Friday, August 27, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

THE FAVOURITE – Review

Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz in the film THE FAVOURITE. Photo by Atsushi Nishijima. © 2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone face off as rivals for the queen’s favor, in the hilarious dark historic comedy THE FAVOURITE. This satiric romp mixes bedroom farce, biting satiric wit and history with a touch of the tragic for a very entertaining excursion into rapier wit. Of the two historical films released this week, this is the fun one, while the other is drama. Still, this fact-based story has its serious and tragic undertones. Set in early 18th century Britain in the reign of Queen Anne, THE FAVOURITE is a wild ride, a battle of wits and ambition at court mixing history and comedy in a way that brings to mind Jane Austen crossed with Stanley Kubrick’s BARRY LYNDON with a dash of Moliere.

Watching these three terrific actresses in a battle of wits is just great fun. Weisz, Colman, and Stone fill the air with sparks and verbal zingers, as they maneuver for position.

THE FAVOURITE sometimes plays fast and loose with facts, but has more history than you might expect. This is the first period film for Greek-born director Yorgos Lanthimos, whose past works include the satiric sci-fi fantasy THE LOBSTER, and the first from a script he didn’t write. Deborah Davis’s script combines historical fact with generous dashes of bedroom farce and palace intrigue. Despite the historic setting, there is plenty in this tale of ambition and power that resonates with the contemporary.

Britain’s Queen Anne is an often-forgotten figure although she was the last Stuart monarch and queen when England and Scotland were joined as Great Britain. Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) is overweight, suffers from gout and other ailments, is moody, and has little energy for ruling the country. The queen’s shyness and lack of decisiveness about political matters opens opportunity for her long-time friend and adviser Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), Duchess of Marlborough, to influence the direction of the country. At the moment the story opens, Lady Sarah is urging the queen to continue the war with France, with Sarah’s husband Lord Marlborough (the always wonderful Mark Gatiss) serving as general leading the troops in France with dreams of conquest and glory. Even though Britain is a war with France, the court is consumed with other pursuits and amusements such as duck races, while the Tories and Whigs battled for control of Parliament.

But then someone new arrives at the palace. The new arrival, young Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), is a distant cousin of Lady Sarah but from a branch of the family fallen on hard times.

Abigail has come to appeal to her influential cousin for a position at court, with hopes of regaining the life in the aristocracy she has lost. Instead, she finds herself sent to work in the kitchen. Nonetheless, pretty Abigail manages to catch the Queen’s eye and even charm her, setting her on a path to fulfilling her ambition and more, maybe even vying for the spot of new favorite.

When Abigail first charms the Queen, Sarah seems to take the young girl under her wing, although it may be to better keep an eye on her. But sweet Abigail is not as innocent and unaware as she might seem, and with the help of scheming Tories and Whigs and others at court, the game is on.

Rounding out the supporting cast with Gatiss are James Smith as politician Lord Godolphin, Nicholas Hoult as political opponent Lord Harley, and Joe Alwyn as handsome Lord Masham, who all add their flavor to the particular mayhem of this cinematic romp.

Although THE FAVOURITE is a color film, director Yorgos Lanthimos makes extensive use a lush, gorgeous black-and-white palette for the sets and costumes, a visual contrast to this tale of moral gray areas. The effect of the lavish monochrome costumes and sets is all the more striking against the green of the grounds around the palace – and sometimes the overblown make-up of the era, on both men and women. Apart from the decor, nothing and no one in this story is as simple as black and white.

An illusion to writer Jonathan Swift tips us off that we often will find ourselves in tongue-in-cheek territory, further confirmed by the strange hobbies indulged by members of the court, duck races being the least of these. The comic intrigue and fine acting, more than history, are the reason to see this highly entertaining film. Olivia Colman’s Queen Anne is both absurd and pitiable. Her foibles, quirks and tantrums are softened by the tragic revelation that the queen gave birth to 17 babies, all of whom eventually died. Although Weisz’ Sarah has political ambitions, her affection for Anne seems genuine. Stone’s Abigail is the character who goes through the greatest transformation, from an innocent-seeming soul with a simple goal to someone caught up in her own game.

THE FAVOURITE is great fun, with a dash of tragedy and the caution to be careful what you wish for. It opens Friday, December 14, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

GOD’S OWN COUNTRY – Review

 

 

GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is award-winning British independent film, a romantic drama set in a windswept rural landscape of northern England, where a young gay man struggles with working the family farm and angrily drifts through life, until an immigrant arrives as a temporary hired hand and changes the young farmer’s view on life. In this contemporary film set in the sheep farming area of rural northern England, GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is a tale of self-discovery and unexpected love.

The film, the first from writer/director Francis Lee, debuted at Sundance in 2017 and was well received at other film festivals, winning awards for the film, its script and lead actor Josh O’Connor. It is being released in theaters in Britain on Jan. 29 but it is available in the U.S. on Blu-ray, DVD and digitally starting the same day from Lionsgate and Picturehouse Entertainment.

Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor from THE DURRELLS) resents his life of constant routine, tending to the family farm on his own since his father Martin became disabled while his grandmother Deidre cares for him. At night, Johnny gets drunk at the local pub and engages in casual sex. It is hard to tell if Johnny is a teen or young adult in his hoodie, driving a 4-wheeler to care for the cows, and getting drunk in town every night. Johnny gets the work done, but his grandmother scolds him in the morning about the drinking and his partly disabled dad criticizes him about how he does the chores. There is a sense of anger and resentment among all the family members who nonetheless know they need each other to run the farm.

When dad tells Johnny he has hired an immigrant as a temporary worker during lambing season. it is one more thing for Johnny to resent. When he picks up the hired hand, Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu), at the bus station, Johnny is surly and he quizzes him about where he’s from. When the polite newcomer says Romania, Johnny promptly calls him a Gypsy, not a promising start. Later, when the two men are sent off a remote part of the farm to work with the lambs being born, things change.

The immigrant changes the life of young Johnny but not because he discovers he is gay – he already knows that, as well as some friends in the village, and no one seems to pay much attention to that. The casual sex he has is with other young men, but he makes no emotional connection with them. He really connects emotionally with no one. When he runs into an old school friend outside the pub where he gets drunk nightly, a woman who has left for college but is back on break, he resists her friendly invitation to join her and friends, a conversation indicates she knows he’s gay. When he refused, she says he used to be fun but Johnny snarls that was before he had to deal with the real world.

No, it is not his sexuality that Johnny discovers but love and a grown-up perspective. What the newcomer changes for Johnny is his view of his life, breaking him out of prolonged adolescence and letting him grow up and take charge of his life as adult, one who can meet responsibilities as well as have control of his life’s direction. It is the kind of life-changing experience that finding love can be for anyone, gay or straight.

 

GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is two films, in a way. On one hand, this film is a beautiful romance, full of sweeping vistas and two attractive people falling in love, like any love story, just that this couple happen to be gay. On the other hand, it is a voyage of self-discovery, a kind of coming-of-age story, in which a young man helping his aging family begins to see what he is doing from an adult’s rather than child’s viewpoint, seeing his situation with new eyes. The way that story is resolved is refreshing, because it has Johnny taking on a new role rather than just leaving and running away to a new life, as many films do. Instead, the immigrant helps him see what he already has and changes the whole picture for everyone.

Beautiful photography of a brooding, windswept landscape, which is showcased in several scenes. The gorgeous scenery is one reason to see this film. An attractive cast is another reason, and there are a few gay sex scenes and frontal male nudity.

The acting is strong. Josh O’Connor is the main focus but all four primary cast members creating rounded and ultimately sympathetic characters. We learn less about Gheorghe than Johnny but we do sense a gentleness and a sadness in him. He also grew up on a farm, and enjoys the work but something changed that forced him to leave. Gheorghe treats the animals with an affection and concern Johnny does not always show towards them, at least at first. Asked if he will go back home, Gheorghe says no, and adds “My country’s dead. You can’t throw a rock in most towns without hitting an old lady crying for her children who have gone.” It is a poignant moment.

One difficulty some American audiences might have is understanding the thick northern English accents, but generally the meaning of scenes comes through, even if you do not catch every word. The DVD and Blu-ray include some extras, deleted scenes or extended scenes from the film as well as the trailer.

GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is a film that exceeds the expectations of just a gay romance in a windswept, ruggedly romantic location, by offering fine performances and a touching tale of self-discovery.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

PHANTOM THREAD – Review

Vicky Krieps stars as “Alma” and Daniel Day-Lewis stars as “Reynolds Woodcock” in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s PHANTOM THREAD, a Focus Features release. Photo credit : Laurie Sparham / Focus Features

PHANTOM THREAD is a beautiful, seductive drama set in the rarefied world of high fashion in 1950s Britain. Director Paul Thomas Anderson re-teams with Daniel Day-Lewis, his star from 2007’s THERE WILL BE BLOOD, for a absorbing tale filled with mystery, danger and romance made more fascinating by Daniel Day-Lewis’ electrifying performance.

Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis), a brilliant, successful but eccentric clothing designer who heads his own fashion house in 1955 London, where his clients include royalty, movie stars, heiresses, grand dames and socialites. Woodcock is gifted but he is also exacting, temperamental and ego-eccentric. Gifted and elegant, Reynolds can be charming or eccentric by turns. His sister and business partner Cyril (the wonderful Leslie Manville) takes care of all the practical matters of running the business, so Reynolds can concentrate on the creative. But she also manages the details of his personal life and daily routine, sharing the mansion from which they run their fashion design business. Cyril smooths over the ruffled feathers of clients when Reynolds is too blunt. Hyper-sensitive Reynolds loves routine and carries that over to his personal life, where the handsome confirmed bachelor woos, but never marries, a string of beauties, discarding them as he loses interest. Or, rather, delegating this unpleasant task to his sister.

Into this rigid routine, Reynolds brings a new love interest, Alma (Vicky Krieps), a pretty waitress he meets on holiday. Alma is a working-class immigrant from Eastern Europe with little education but Reynolds is intrigued by her freshness and independence. He sets out to transform her into a fashion model and then lover, as he has done with other women, but Alma proves far different from Reynold’s previous lovers.

One does not have to be particularly interested in fashion to be engrossed by this film. The fashion world of Britain in the 1950s seems an odd choice for a setting for this director but Anderson imbues it with the tension and darkness of psychological thriller, while embracing the inherent romance of the business. Like a theatrical performance, the surface beauty of this world obscures the tense struggle, competition and intrigue behind the scenes.

This is director Paul Thomas Anderson’s second collaboration with Daniel Day-Lewis. Like THERE WILL BE BLOOD, PHANTOM THREAD features a score by Jonny Greenwood, but unlike that previous film, the music here is lush and romantic, as smooth and pretty as one of Woodcock’s creations in silk and satin.

 

Visually, PHANTOM THREAD is a banquet, suffused with beautiful dresses and lavish sets, and all gorgeously photographed. Anderson has set this variation on Gothic romance, as it has been described, in an interesting moment in time. Britain is still recovering from the aftermath of World War II but embracing a new peace-time optimism with the lavish coronation of the young Queen Elizabeth II. It seems an odd setting, the fashion world, for an Anderson film yet he finds the dark and even seamy secrets inside to this pretty business. Against this backdrop, Reynolds Woodcock and his sister Alma work tirelessly to maintain the top-tier status of their prosperous business while minimizing changes to the comfortable routine of their personal lives. Alma, and the possibility of real love, unbalance this carefully built status quo, setting up power struggles among them, that impact their personal lives and their business. But the question is whether change is a threat or an essential element to keep the business vital.

This tense contest of wills is placed in an opulent world of gorgeous clothes, stately homes and the rich and famous. Reynolds Woodcock is a fictional character but as Day-Lewis plays him he seems vibrantly alive.. Day-Lewis” Reynolds is intense, fastidious, and gifted in his work. He is charming and elegant but also hypersensitive to little irritations,even the crunch of someone eating toast at breakfast can upset him. Cyril works to minimize these irritations, becoming an enabler of his quirks and crutch of sorts.

Day-Lewis’ performance is remarkable, and much the same can be said for Lesley Manville’s portrayal of his sister. Cyril is both his business partner and personal assistant, the one who takes care of all practical matters so Reynolds can concentrate only on the creative. There are hints of childhood hardships that forged a bond between the siblings, so they form a unit that shuts out the rest of the world. It is this protective shell that Alma sets out to crack. Vicky Krieps is also excellent as Alma, the person who intrudes in this closed world, and unlike others before, brings an unexpected force and will to the table.

Daniel Day-Lewis has said he is retiring from acting, which would be a shame. One might hope this excellent performance might win him yet another an Oscar as a parting gift but it has been a good year for films and for acting performances. Gary Oldman’s remarkable portrayal of Winston Churchill in DARKEST HOUR may shut out several worthy performances, including Day-Lewis’ gripping one in this film.

PHANTOM THREAD is an engrossing and enjoyable drama, a visually beautiful blend of taut drama and seductive romance heightened by the performances of a stellar cast. Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance is a big reason to see the film but it has much to intrigue, filled with layers mystery and unsettling, edgy drama set in the rarefied world.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

DARKEST HOUR – Review

Gary Oldman (center) stars as Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright’s DARKEST HOUR, a Focus Features release. Photo credit: Jack English / Focus Features ©

Gary Oldman gives an amazing performance as Winston Churchill in director Joe Wright DARKEST HOUR, a riveting drama about Churchill and the earliest darkest days of World War II, as Britain faced the crisis of Dunkirk and invasion by Hitler loomed. The film is an admirable work, a mix of historical drama and biopic, but it is Oldman’s remarkable Oscar-worthy performance that is generating the most attention.

DARKEST HOUR offers more than Gary Oldman’s sterling, stirring performance. It is also a wonderful companion to a couple of other WWII films released this year, DUNKIRK and the less-seen THEIR FINEST HOUR, both set around he same time in Britain. Combined with director Joe Wright’s earlier film ATONEMENT, which contains a riveting depiction of a soldier’s experience pinned down at Dunkirk, these films create a surprisingly rounded picture of an event and time that still resonates, particularly for Brits.

Of the several films about Winston Churchill this year, DARKEST HOUR is by far the best, not only thanks to Oldman but to a well-written script and strong direction. Director Joe Wright has shown great skill in other period films, such as PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and ATONEMENT, and puts those skills to good use here. The film also sports a strong supporting cast and wonderful evocative visual style.

We first see Churchill in typical working mode, in bed having a breakfast that includes whiskey and a cigar, dictating letters to politicians and bullying yet another new young secretary In this case, it is Miss Layton, played by Lily James, who bears the brunt, and the experience nearly leads her to quit her first day. But the situation is saved by Winston’s long-suffering wife Clemmie (the excellent Kristen Scott Thomas), who soothes her and scolds him.

It is 1940, the Nazis are poised to invade Belgium and France is on the brink, the British Parliament has lost confidence in the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup). To gain the support of the opposition, the ruling party must call on an old warhorse, Winston Churchill (Oldman). At 65, the hard-drinking, cigar-smoking rotund politician seems an unlikely pick for leader, and not even King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) is comfortable with the choice. Churchill, on the other hand, seems to have expected it, and springs into action.

While outgoing prime minister Chamberlain councils peace and wants to negotiate with Hitler, Churchill only talks of war. He knows there is no negotiating with Hitler.

The film evokes the time period brilliantly. Visually, scenes are all in desaturated color, leaning to warm sepia tones. Slanting light filters through smokey interiors and gray exteriors. Faces are half-lit or heavily shadowed, lending an air of classic mystery. The murky look reflects the murky situation in which Britain finds itself in the war.

The film is both atmospheric and intimate, taut with tension. It focuses on showing Churchill’s skill as a speechwriter and inspiring orator. Oldman portrays him as a man of great self-confidence, and a bulldog of determination and unreasoning optimism. The combination inspired the British public but worried his politicians at home and leaders of allied countries, some of whom called him delusional or drunken.

But to lead the British people, Churchill at first misleads them about the situation, painting a hopeful picture when things are actually very grim. So grim that the German’s have driven the bulk of British forces back to Dunkirk, where they are trapped with their backs to the sea. The only nearby troops are at Calais, also in dire conditions.

Dunkirk remains a backdrop to this story, which focuses on Churchill himself, which is why this film dovetails so nicely with the earlier two films, DUNKIRK and THEIR FINEST, both of which highlight the role civilians played in rescuing soldiers. In DARKEST HOURS, the battlefield situation is often portrayed in aerial views, showing bombed landscapes and smashed buildings, while leaders strategize in the underground war room.

Audiences are so used to seeing Gary Oldman in roles playing Americans that they may forget the actor is British. Oldman likely relished the chance to play Churchill, Britain’s great wartime leader. Oldman actually looks nothing like Churchill, yet with the help of makeup, completely disappears into the part and is astonishing convincing. He captures the posture, the pattern of speech, familiar from old recordings, Oldman’s Churchill talks incessantly and insistently, saying to an adversary in one scene, “Stop interrupting me while I’m interrupting you.” In another, he shows one of his famous bursts of temper, shouting “You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth,” as he rejects negotiating peace with Hitler.

Churchill’s political adversaries in this struggle are the outgoing prime minister Neville Chamberlain and his supporter Viscount Hallifax (Stephen Dillane). Hallifax declined the office but is helping maneuver Churchill out of it, so Chamberlain can resume his former role.

The dialog is sparkling, with witty quips sprinkled into discussions that reveal the historical situation, the war abroad and political maneuvering at home, and Churchill’s personal life. Scriptwriter Anthony McCarten built his screenplay around three of Churchill’s speeches, culminating with the famous rallying cry “we will never surrender.” McCarten thoroughly researched the man and the events, drawing on the minutes of Churchill’s War Cabinet meetings. The notes revealed moments of doubt or uncertainty unexpected given his confident public image. Privately, Churchill recalled mistakes of the past, and was particularly haunted by World War I and Gallipoli.

Oldman’s Churchill is often bullying, a man of such strong will that even the King admits to being frightened of him, then he surprises us with his sharp sense of humor and sudden kindness, illustrated in a touching scene where his young secretary talks about her soldier brother. Lilly James is perfect in her role, a young woman who at first seems ready to bolt from her challenging job and the later coming to understand and admire the complex, difficult man for whom she works.

Kristen Scott Thomas is simply wonderful as Clemmie Churchill, the only one unafraid of Winston, and the only one able to rally her husband in his private moments of doubt. Her scenes with Oldman are highlights of the film, filled sharp wit and conflict, as well as warmth and romance.

The rest of the cast is good as well, particularly Samuel West as Churchill’s loyal assistant, Sir Anthony Eden and Mendelsohn as the king.

Overall, the film is masterfully crafted, creating character and building tension with a sure hand. The film’s one stumble is an awkward, unconvincing scene in which Churchill makes the far-fetched decision to take the London subway, the Tube, to discuss with ordinary citizens the possibility of peace negotiations with Hitler. While Churchill really did sometimes sneak out to talk to ordinary citizens to get a sense of public opinion, this fictional scene just does not play as real.

DARKEST HOUR is an excellent historical film, one that perfectly captures the time period and critical point in history time, and creates a portrait of a great man at his finest hour, who exemplifies leadership at its best.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars