Review of Darkest Hour (2017) by Isaac C — 07 Jan 2018

This should have been called The Darkest Two Hours, but I'll give them props for getting half way to such an aptly descriptive title. The third movie concerning Dunkirk this year (after Their Finest and Dunkirk) is a not brief enough and dimly-lit glimpse into the life of Winston Churchill that you never thought you would want and still don't.

Despite whispers surrounding the Oscars in regards to Gary Oldman's performance as the fated Prime Minister, I was left fidgeting in my seat the majority of the film. To be perfectly clear, the movie is only concerned with Oldman's performance; Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Ben Mendelsohn be damned.

To that degree, it's terribly pedantic because there isn't much to see aside from Oldman in prosthetics mumbling and billowing about. I'll admit, I don't have much more than a morbid interest in him as he always seems like a Malkovitch-level ham in every performance, and, honestly, if your most reserved role was in a Harry Potter film, you've got to work on a modicum of subtlety.

If anyone has seen his performance in the gag-me-with-a-spoon melodrama The Space Between Us from early 2017, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. As for the lighting and color, Darkest Hour disregards the entire color wheel for blackened sepia, with a few blue shades near the end.

I know that's not an uncommon color grade for modern movies, but in this instance it's so oppressively drab looking in the desaturated, backlit corridors and rooms of Buckingham Palace and British Parliament, I'm amazed anyone could dare to stay awake the full two hours.

So, the only real point of interest left is the bombastic oratory of Churchill, which at times could be quite moving especially as the Dunkirk situation becomes more dire. I can't stress enough, however, that the film's fixation on Churchill elbows out the other characters to such a degree that any emotional points of reference are minimized, any political tension is underplayed, and any forward momentum is mired in booze and cigar smoke.

The most humanizing and compelling scene takes place on a London Underground where Oldman is engaging a Tube full of gobsmacked citizens about the fate of the country, and they show him their indomitable spirit against the impending fascist invasion.

It is that emotionality that makes for an exciting cinematic experience, but we only get a glimmer of it. For your money and time, watch Their Finest instead.