Darkest Hour (2017)
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The film depicts the pivotal moments of Winston Churchill's leadership during the 1940 war cabinet crisis.
The story
In May 1940, the opposition Labour Party in Parliament demands the resignation of British prime minister Neville Chamberlain for being too weak in the face of the Nazi onslaught. Conservative Party colleagues want Lord Halifax as his successor, but Halifax does not feel it is his time. Chamberlain chooses the only man whom the opposition will accept as leader of a national government: Winston Churchill, who had correctly predicted the danger from Adolf Hitler before the war but has a poor reputation in Parliament. As Germany invades the Low Countries, Churchill faces internal pressure from his cabinet and allies while attempting to navigate the escalating crisis of the Second World War.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In May 1940, the opposition Labour Party demands the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain selects Winston Churchill as the new leader. As Germany invades the Low Countries, Churchill faces a fractured cabinet and a desperate situation. He faces opposition from Chamberlain and Halifax, who favor negotiation with Germany. Churchill's leadership is tested as the British Expeditionary Force is trapped at Dunkirk. Despite pressure to seek a negotiated peace, Churchill remains defiant. He receives support from King George VI and the public, eventually delivering a defiant speech to Parliament. The film concludes with an epilogue showing the evacuation of Dunkirk and the subsequent fates of the key figures.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 125
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joe Wright
- Writers
- Anthony McCarten · writer
- Cast and characters
- Gary Oldman · Winston Churchill; Kristin Scott Thomas · Clementine Churchill; Lily James · Elizabeth Layton; Stephen Dillane · Viscount Halifax; Ronald Pickup · Neville Chamberlain; Ben Mendelsohn · King George VI
- Genres
- biographical; war drama
- Themes
- leadership; war; national identity
- Tone and mood
- serious; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- historical; biographical; war
- Source material / true-story basis
- speculative screenplay by The Theory of Everything screenwriter Anthony McCarten
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Gary Oldman's performance as one of the best of his career.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 84% · scale: percentage · review count: 317; Metacritic · score: 75 · scale: 100 · review count: 50
- Awards and nominations
- Best Actor · Academy Awards · win; Best Actor · BAFTAs · win; Best Actor · Golden Globes · win; Best Actor · SAG Awards · win
- Production trivia
- Oldman spent over 200 hours having make-up applied and smoked over 400 cigars during filming.; The film was shot in locations including the John Rylands Library and Manchester Town Hall to portray the Houses of Parliament.; The film was based on a speculative screenplay by Anthony McCarten.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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