TIFF Review: Darkest Hour

Winston Churchill becomes the British prime minister as Nazi Germany is conquering Europe.

The inability to deal with the Adolf Hitler leads to Neville Chamberlain being replaced by Winston Churchill as prime minister; however, the newly appointed British leader clashes with his War Cabinet which believes that he should pursue a peace treaty with Germany.

It is quite remarkable how the make-up applied to Gary Oldman helps to transform him into Winston Churchill.  The lead actor relishes the role and makes the most out of re-enacting the famous speeches.  Lily James effectively portrays the just hired personal secretary who serves as the means to provide exposition to the audience.  The trouble lies in the theatrics of filmmaker Joe Wright with shots pulling out to an aerial view that looks like CGI and a subway scene that feels so contrived in order to explain the origins of the line, ‘We will never surrender.’

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.