Darkest Hour is a biographical history film directed by Joe Wright and starring Gary Oldman, Lily James, Ben Mendelson, Kristen Scott Thomas, and others. It was released at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2017. The film mainly tells the story of the Second World War, which was invaded by the Nazi forces, and British Prime Minister Churchill made decisions that affected the course of world history in the face of the darkness before dawn.
Gary Oldman is going to win an Oscar, definitely a movie king performance! This movie is like an Oscar proposition essay tailored for him, although such an Olympic bid film has been seen every year, but it is still necessary to admit that it is excellent in all aspects. The director dared to put the whole movie indoors, watching a group of British people fighting with each other, nagging from beginning to end, which was also willful enough, and also added a bit of literary temperament to the film. A feast for those who love cinema: the history before watching movies. When Nolan's film Dunkirk focuses on ordinary people, this "victorious escape" is just one of the many problems Churchill faced after he became prime minister. Churchill took over a mess that had not been encountered in a hundred years. On the eve of World War II, Churchill raised controversial political views and made many enemies at home, experiencing a ups and downs of his parliamentary career, but he was killed during the period of the enemy in his belly.
After the north American media review of "The Darkest Hour", the heat wave of the early impact on the film for the Oscar Best Picture instantly receded, but the call for Gary Oldman, who played Churchill, to win the best actor did not diminish. With textbook-level acting skills, he showed the legend of the great prime minister who led the country and the people to win the Second World War in a life-and-death moment in the British Empire for 26 days. In the pinch of Hollywood blockbusters, many theaters in Guangzhou have given "Darkest Hour" a poor amount of films, and people who can walk into the cinema to watch this drama and drama are mostly seen in history textbooks the name of this "strange old man". Before the opening of the 125-minute film, everyone generally had the impression of the iron-blooded prime minister who carried the empire that never set on his shoulders, but the director used many first perspectives to show the old man's tough and tough side of the anxiety. As the director said with the help of Churchill's wife: he is just an ordinary person. It's not easy to play this ordinary person well, and Gary Oldman has dedicated real plastic surgery-level acting skills. There are reports that he spends at least 6 hours a day on special effects makeup and transforms into an old man who loves to smoke and drink with fat flesh. If you look at the back and the side alone, you almost mistake churchill in 1940 for churchill himself. Garriedman obviously did a lot of homework beforehand, Churchill had chronic pharyngitis due to drinking and smoking for many years, and his speech was sometimes blurry; he was too fat to walk often crossed for a long time and was prone to panting; the corners of his mouth twitched from time to time... You can't find a single breath of Gary Oldman himself in the film, and every look and micro-expression is Churchill's possession.
Arguably the best complement to Nolan's Dunkirk, whose only pull-out angle is the story of the leader who issued evacuation orders and called on the people to rescue him during those days. The film is a very accurate and vivid presentation of Churchill's own characteristics, his impassioned speeches, his straightforward, decisive and tenacious personality, his deliberation of words, and the momentum of his speech and the occasional sense of humor. Gary Oldman is obviously fully incarnated into this role in makeup and performance, it is almost impossible to see him in person, and his voice has changed, which is a perfect performance that is quite worthy of the film emperor. It is really difficult for any country or political leader in history, especially in wartime, to evaluate them simply with a few words or a word. Therefore, most biographies of political figures are about an event or a certain stage. Whether or not the decisions he made were perfect or not, and whether everyone agreed, at least the film shows the difficult choices Churchill faced as British prime minister at the outbreak of World War II, and the decisions and implications made in those days. From the beginning, the film pays great attention to Churchill's body shape, movements, attitude and voice, and the feelings of those around him. The King of England thought he was scary, and the female secretary played by Lily James was scolded to the point of running out crying the first time she saw him. Each of his speeches was also very powerful, fully demonstrating the charm and deterrence of this person as a leader.
I've been looking forward to Darkest Hour for a long time. Whether it's the makeup of Gary Oldman as Churchill or the theme of World War II itself attracts me. However, the world that pervades the entertainment culture itself is not flattering. Even if the trailer makes people watch the blood boiling, even if It is Gary Oldman's amazing acting skills, even if it is a World War II theme. Why I say this, I don't know how long it will be released abroad. Domestically, "Justice League" and "Dream Quest" almost won most of the box office. In the face of a superhero movie and animation masterpiece with a wide audience, it is also reasonable that "Darkest Hour" is weak at the box office. Some people will think that I am moaning without illness, after all, it is very common for such a situation of high ratings and low box office of Olympic movies. But under the occupation of mainstream entertainment culture, the fame and fortune of non-popcorn movies is actually the rise of public aesthetics. Therefore, I saw few films in the theater, and my heart had mixed feelings. Now let's talk about the film itself, to be honest, the script is a Hollywood standard Olympic template. If it were not for Churchill's own sense of humor, the plot would be slightly lengthy and tedious. It is also because of the cultural differences between China and Britain that a lot of black humor is extremely dazed for ordinary Chinese audiences, even so, its plot has been designed for a long time. I think the film is based on Churchill's mental journey. From being overwhelmed to developing towards the goal to being confused and finally strengthening the belief in oneself. The script is set up not like the thousands of names in Dunkirk, and it is not just the difficulty of retreating that Churchill presents with his own determination to save most of them, and it is also difficult to make this decision. From the beginning of the film, Churchill's moody character and courageous spirit have laid the foundation for this film.
Maybe everyone's eyes are too focused on the hollywood blockbusters and Chinese blockbusters that are so loud that it's easy to miss some really good movies, and "The Darkest Hour" is such a movie. Maybe Churchill's story is not cold to most viewers, and maybe non-World War II fans and history fans don't care about the "Darkest Hour" that Churchill led britain during World War II, but as long as you sit in the theater and calm down to enjoy this film, I believe you will be deeply moved and attracted. Because the film has a very good plot and characters, as well as Gary Oldman's god-level acting skills as Churchill, and director Joe White's keen control of the film's rhythm, this dialogue-based drama film does not seem boring from beginning to end. This film is especially suitable for combining with Nolan's "Dunkirk", and it has a more interesting effect.
The darkest hour is actually similar to Spielberg's "Lincoln" in previous years, showing the unknown and wonderful historical details of the well-known historical events, "Lincoln" shows the various dramatic and meticulous efforts made by Lincoln and his staff to solicit votes behind the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that the Us Congress passed to abolish slavery. And "The Darkest Hour" subverts the impression that after Churchill became prime minister, "changing the coach like changing the knife" led the LinkedIn country to victory, showing that Churchill was in danger but was constrained by the "lords and factions" in the party, facing the dilemma of trust and cabinet crisis, which is where the film's fascinating plot tension lies.
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