Review: Darkest Hour

Last night I finally finished watching Darkest Hour, a 2017 film from Focus Features starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. Honestly I am glad I watched the TV show The Crown before seeing this film because Seasons 1 and 2 of The Crown give an extensive portrayal of Winston Churchill’s time as prime minister. Also, John Lithgow is an amazing actor. I remember as a kid watching him play the voice of Lord Farquaad in Shrek, and in The Crown he plays Churchill really well. Watching these biopics always reminds me how much work goes into playing the part of someone famous. And usually a lot of these biopics require the actors to wear prosthetics while playing the people they are portraying, so I have mad respect for everyone who works in the prosthetics and makeup departments for these kinds of movies. Also I was really happy because Lily James is in the movie (she plays Winston’s secretary) and I really loved her in Downton Abbey. In Downton Abbey she plays Rose, who is one of my favorite characters in the show. I also really loved Gary Oldman’s portrayal of Churchill in this movie. I don’t know much about Churchill other than what I read in World History class, so that’s why I really loved watching this movie. Even though of course, I have to keep in mind that while many of the events in biopics tend to be factual, the film is still a fictionalized portrayal of the person. I was never there when Churchill was alive; I can only know who he was from reading history books about him and watching this movie. Gary Oldman is such a great actor though; the few films I saw with him in it were Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (if you haven’t seen the movies, he plays a character named Sirius Black) and Mank, which is a film on Netflix about Herman Mankiewicz. I think I would have gained a deeper understanding of Mank, though, if I had seen Citizen Kane. I came into the film kind of cold and I wasn’t really following much of the plot because I hadn’t seen the movie Citizen Kane, and the film is about Herman Mankiewicz working on Citizen Kane. I understand Citizen Kane is a classic film, though, so that’s something I need to catch up on.

If you haven’t seen Darkest Hour, it takes place during World War II, specifically in the year 1940. Neville Chamberlain is being kicked out of his role as prime minister, and Parliament needs a replacement. Churchill ends up becoming the prime minister but people don’t really trust him at first to be good at what he does. He is stubborn, blunt and often blows up at his Cabinet members and in particular his staff. His wife thinks he is being too cantankerous sometimes, but Winston is determined to do what he can so that Britain won’t surrender to Germany in the war. He keeps sending more men, but the officials working with him think he is prolonging the war too long by sending more men and think he needs to cool out because too many men are getting killed in the war. However, Winston is still determined not to give in to surrender, and continues to lead the country through the war.

I really loved the way this movie was directed. First I really loved how the movie uses light and dark colors. Most of the colors throughout the film are dark or neutral colors, and I think this conveys the overall somber tone of the film. 1940 is a crucial time for Winston, and for England as well (and the rest of the world, too, but the movie focuses on how the war is impacting people in England). I really love the use of red whenever Winston gives an address to the nation about the state of the war because it gives the scene this ominous feel to it, and because I think of red as an emergency color (e.g. Red Cross, ambulance and fire truck sirens) it showed me how crucial each speech Winston made was. The scenes in the chambers of Parliament had interesting lighting. It was a dark room but the bright light was shining on the person talking. And the beginning scene I think that the fact that the room was so darkened heightened the serious nature of Chamberlain’s removal from office. At the beginning, most people are booing Chamberlain and shouting at him because they think he is an incompetent leader. I am sure I would have felt the same intensity had the room been well-lit but for some reason I liked that they kept the room dark while directing the lighting on certain people in the room because it showed how intense this moment was for people in that room, and especially it showed how intense and nerve-wracking it was for Chamberlain because he’s basically in the hot seat at this point and he doesn’t know how to respond to all the criticisms people in the house are throwing his way.

There are two particularly moving scenes at the beginning and toward the end of the film, where Winston is riding in his car through the city. At the beginning he sees people walking around on a sunny day, as everyday people heading to work, selling things on the street, and doing other every day things. He comments to his driver that he has never rode on the train. Later he sees, while riding in the safety of his car, some people trying to stay dry in the pouring rain with their umbrellas, other people not carrying umbrellas at all getting soaked. It is a pretty miserable-looking scene to Churchill because he sees how much the citizens are trying to survive during this time of anxiety and uncertainty. World War II affected people’s livelihoods in so many ways. It affected the economy, how people lived lives, and while there was great pride in these people going to war to serve their country, many were also killed and their loved ones often didn’t know whether they would come out alive. Seeing people walking in the rain while he rides comfortably in his car prompts him to jump out of the car and take the London Underground to Westminster. On the train everyone freaks out when they see Churchill, and all they can do is stare and then when he gets up, stand as a sign of respect. He doesn’t care about formalities though; he just wants to be with regular citizens and it’s his first time riding the tube. He asks them whether they think Britain should enter into a peace deal with Germany and everyone on the train responds with a hearty “No!” When he addresses Parliament he tells them that the people want to keep fighting Germany rather than surrender, and everyone breaks out in applause because they are so moved by his speech.

In another powerful scene, Ms. Layton (Churchill’s secretary) is typing up a message by Churchill, along the lines of “we’re not going to pull out of this war,” and Ms. Layton starts quietly crying and asks to be excused. Winston tells her that no, she cannot, and she expresses how pained she is that so many young men are being sent to die in this war and most people don’t know when these men will ever come back alive. At this point most of the British troops are about to be wiped out in battle. At first Winston doesn’t understand where she is coming from, but then she shows him a photo of her brother and tells him that he was killed during the war. It’s a moment where he reflects and realizes how it’s not just about military strategy, but also recognizing the trauma and grief that many civilians faced during this war because they lost their loved ones.

The music was also incredible! I think watching the TV show The Crown helped me appreciate the music because the score for Darkest Hour sounded like the score for The Crown. The score seems to use very serious somber keys like D minor. Honestly while watching the film I couldn’t help but move my body while the score was playing because the rhythms of the music are so vibrant and powerful. They convey the intensity of each scene because overall the movie is intense. The music also fits with the scenes because each day that passes is a moment of urgency for Churchill. He cannot relax, he cannot kick back and pretend like this time in his life isn’t crucial. The issue of whether to have peace talks with Germany, the issue of sending in more troops and withdrawing troops…all of it is enough to keep him awake until the late hours.

There are a few funny and tender moments though. Of course, the film was totally serious, but there is one scene where these reporters are approaching Churchill for questions, and he holds up his index and middle finger in a “V shape.” At first the newspapers think it means “victory,” so they put on the headline, next to the photo of Winston giving the “V” sign, “V for Victory.” However, we then see Ms. Layton and another secretary giggling hysterically while reading the paper. When Winston sees them giggling he asks them what is so funny, and Ms. Layton politely pulls him aside and tells him that the way he turned his hands to make the V-sign means something vulgar. He gave the sign with the back of his hand facing toward the recipient rather than with the palm of the hand facing outwards, the latter which actually does mean “victory” or a peace sign. Instead the way Winston signed “V” actually means “up your bum,” not “victory.” Winston then breaks out into laughter when he finds out that is what the sign he was making with his hands really means. I wouldn’t have known the difference between the “up your bum” V-sign and “victory” V-sign. In America I don’t know if we have an “up-your-bum” V-sign. We mostly just raise our middle finger if we want to say “F*ck you” to someone.

This is the trailer for Darkest Hour:

Darkest Hour. 2017. 2 hr 4 min. Rated PG-13 for thematic material