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Darkest Hour
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02:36
Darkest Hour
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- 2017
- Joe Wright
- 120 mins
- PG
Summary
Second World War drama starring Gary Oldman and Lily James. Faced with the threat of Nazi invasion during the early days of the war, new British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrestles with a history-defining decision: negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or commit the nation to fight for all it holds dear.
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Review
A star rating of 4 out of 5.
Damon Wise
A near-perfect companion piece to Christopher Nolan's terse, elliptical Dunkirk, Joe Wright's account of the lead-up to the 1940 evacuation not only fills in some of the political background of that now infamous wartime debacle but also reclaims Winston Churchill from the dusty pages of history books. An almost unrecognisable Gary Oldman plays him with mischief and passion, as Darkest Hour details how the Conservative politician, unpopular and unwanted by his own party, came to lead a coalition government, even against the wishes of the king (a superb Ben Mendelsohn). So much of it is familiar, including Churchill's tender androck-solid relationship with his wife Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas), but the treatment is not: Wright's forceful direction depicts not so much a hero as a principled man snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Certain engineered Hollywood moments dilute the overall impact, including a twee meet and greet on a Tube train, but Oldman is never less than sensational. What a performance.
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7.4/10
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Credits
Cast
rolenameWinston ChurchillGary OldmanClementine ChurchillKristin Scott ThomasElizabeth LaytonLily JamesViscount HalifaxStephen DillaneNeville ChamberlainRonald PickupKing George VIBen MendelsohnSir John SimonNicholas JonesSir Anthony EdenSamuel WestClement AttleeDavid SchofieldGeneral IsmayRichard LumsdenGeneral IronsideMalcolm Storry
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Crew
rolenameDirectorJoe Wright
Details
Theatrical distributor
Universal
Released on
2018-01-12
Languages
English | German | Italian | French
Available on
DVD and Blu-ray
Formats
Colour
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Gary Oldman's Oscar-winning Churchill drama Darkest Hour is airing on BBC tonight
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