'Darkest Hour' Shows Why Winston Churchill Was a Great Leader

Darkest Hour is an Oscar-contending war drama biopic on Sir Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman), which focuses on his early days as Prime Minister as World War II rages.  With the British Expeditionary Forces cornered in Dunkirk, threatened to be wiped out, and the surrender of France inevitable, the odds of Hitler invading Great Britain are extremely high.  Thus, it’s up to Churchill to rally his people as they face their “darkest hour.”

Churchill is one of my most favorite historical figures ever.  In my opinion, he’s sort of the Abraham Lincoln of the British people.  Thus, it was easy for Darkest Hour to catch my interest.

It’s worth noting that it’s obvious that Gary Oldman’s performance is screaming “I want to win the Oscar!”  But it doesn’t make him less deserving of it as his apparent Oscar-baity motivations, with the help of impeccable prosthetic and makeup, did fuel a believable, mesmerizing performance.  In the same case with Daniel Day-Lewis portraying Abraham Lincoln in 2012’s Lincoln, I think Oldman had also made the role his own, making it quite difficult for other actors to play Churchill more notably and definitively in the near future (though, for the record, DDL is far brilliant in Lincoln than Oldman in Darkest Hour, and Lincoln is a superior film to Darkest Hour).  So, though I have no horse in this race, I think I will be most happy if Oldman wins Best Actor in the upcoming Academy Awards.

Other notable performances are from Kristin Scott Thomas (as Clemintine Churchill), Ben Mendelsohn (as George VI), and Lily James (Elizabeth Layton, Churchill’s secretary).

Though I don’t think it’s as beautiful and strong as another important World War II film of 2017, Dunkirk, I really like Darkest Hour all in all.  Aside from the superb acting, it also boasts excellent production value, arresting shots, and a very worthwhile narrative packed with very moving scenes and themes.

It’s an inspiring film about great leadership and the value of remaining steadfast when there’s tremendous reason to fear and waver and give up -- embracing difficulty, when the cause is noble, over peace, when the price for it is compromising with tyranny.  I don’t know how much modern British audience will appreciate Darkest Hour.  But for me, a fan of their history and culture, the film reminds me of one thing I’ve admired about them: how they, as embodied by prominent Britons like Churchill, used to be the proudest, most honorable, and most tenacious nation in Europe at one point (at the present, it’s looking to be the Poles) who boldly dare to make a stand, even when alone and at the brink of annihilation.