The film, “Darkest Hour” portrays a beautiful drama film that is filled with historical events. The main story focuses on the main character, Winston Churchill during WWII. It presents an amazing view of Winston’s personality as a whole and the hard choices that he made during his first month as prime minister which is why many should watch it.
Winston Churchill was a man many viewed as strong, boastful, loud, and prideful. But it was thanks to these characteristics that helped him to lead the United Kingdom through the biggest and most destructive war in history. Throughout the film, it portrays Churchill as a man seeking to help save his own reputation while dealing with the high stress of the war going badly. One scene showing his sometimes boastful attitude is when he is arguing why they shouldn’t try suing for peace negotiations. His argument, which is interrupting one of the members of the war cabinet, Halifax soon reaches a boiling point when both are trying to speak their side. Churchill then shouts out-loud, “Would you stop interrupting me while I am interrupting you!” (Darkest Hour, 1:07:53 – 1:07:57). This partially funny yet intriguing quote shows of his witty yet boastful part of his personality. The facial expression that Churchill gives, the stern eyes and slight lean toward the camera present that side of his character. However, that is not the only thing the audience gets to see.
“Darkest Hour” also dives into the seriousness of the situation at hand. Great Britain was losing greatly when Winston Churchill was given the invitation to become prime minister. In the film, we see the moments where he feels like everything is falling apart. That side of him being so afraid of failing is portrayed beautifully by the actor Gary Oldman. He won a couple of film awards like BAFTA Film Award, Golden Globes, Oscar Award, and so on which all were for best actor. The side of him showing his inner emotions is depicted gracefully when he has an unexpected visitor, King George VI. In their meeting, the king asked Churchill a question. “Are you not afraid?” Churchill replied, “I am, most terribly” (Darkest Hour, 1:33:20 – 1:33:28). That side of him admitting to being afraid is done so beautifully by the actor’s take on Churchill’s more vulnerable side. The fearful tone and sense of dread in his voice give it much more impact to the audience. But it was not just the character itself that is done so well.
The actions taken by Winston Churchill were in many times seen as being too risky or thinking it was not going to work. One of the biggest and riskiest actions that he took was Operation Dynamo. An actual operation that at the time, was the biggest marine evacuation order in history. In the film, Churchill called Admiral Ramsay to help orchestrate the operation, which was to use as many civilian boats as possible to help evacuate the British army off the coast of Dunkirk. (Darkest Hour, 1:01:20 – 1:02:28). The tension in the room, the gloomy setting that shows the dark hour, and the sound of desperation in Churchill’s voice all display a chilling yet hopeful view of trying to save lives. It also shows the true leadership of Churchill in the darkest of times. Historically, the operation would be labeled as a miracle.
“Darkest Hour” is part history and part drama. But the main point is the character, Winston Churchill. The way that he is portrayed is beautifully well done. The actor did a fantastic job of mimicking Churchill’s personality, his blubbering voice, and capturing the intense moments of some of his most iconic actions taken during WWII.
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