Saturday 3 February 2018

"Darkest Hour"



Yesterday afternoon - I went to the cinema on my own; B did not wish to see this film.

This is very much an actors' film. Gary Oldman's role as Churchill and Kristen Scott Thomas' as his wife Clemmy, both are amazing and outstanding performances and their scenes together are intimate and moving. There is great support work from Ronald Pichup (Chamberlain), Stephen Dillane (Halifax), Ben Mendelsohn (Bertie/King George VI) and Lily James (Elizabeth Langley, Churchill's personal assistant) make this film a wonderful ensemble piece.

This is a good film - not great - but good. The location work and the mise en scene are very good but the story, the plot, these are fine but jarring; the idea that Churchill used the London Underground as a way of getting close to the populace, to judge the popular mood, no, that does not fly for me.


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