Darkest Hour

[ladams888]

An amazing performance by Gary Oldman. I thought I was really watching Churchill. Although a very serious film, there was still plenty of humour - mostly down to Churchill's grumpiness and his mannerisms. A must-see film – especially for many of the younger people today who seem to know very little of the war and the awful hardships we, as a nation, had to endure. 10/10

[valda]

Great performances all around, but sadly I fell asleep

[RevKeith39]

Great central performance from Oldman and supporting cast uniformly excellent, but let down by narrative flaws and theatricality. Might have worked better as 2 part TV film. Central messages of strong leadership and dangers of appeasement are really relevant for today but I doubt that younger viewers will find it palatable. Very good but could have been better. 8/10

[raj101]

this is essentially a chance for Gary Oldman to flex his acting muscles at the expense of a great film. Its the best Churchill you will have ever seen, but not the best Churchill film.

[prettyxcool]

A historical account of the weeks leading up to Dunkirk, from Churchill's point of view. An interesting watch, war, politics and Churchill.

Granted Gary Oldman gave the performance of his life, unfortunately, for me the eyes gave him away, and his stature was not as big as I imagined. Strong supporting cast too, King Edward IV ((Ben Mendelsohn) and Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas). I felt Kristin really light up the screen in her small scenes. A unique look at such a great and witty man, and inspirational, but I felt a little Churchill'd out with several films about this period so close together. :-) 7/10

The screening in Screen 1, Vue Stratford was 90% full. The Sky rep told me when I turned up at 6pm, that there was plenty of seats, but when I went in, the screening room was already half full - with all the back rows taken! The reps never get it right what they tell me.

[elixir01]

Really liked this film, found it more immersive than I thought I would. Great performances all round, particularly enjoyed Mendelsohn as King George. A recommended watch. 7/10

[McG]

Enjoyed a visit to see this today even though no friends were free to go so went alone.
The film certainly portrayed Churchill to be a heavy drinker, bad tempered, eccentric and certainly not the choice of the Tory Government. He certainly did not come over as the great hero he has been portrayed by so many. The acting was excellent throughout and Gary Oldman presented Churchill so well. . .in fact I would say his portrayal was one of the best I've seen.
It was strange watching scenes from the House of Commons and how few women were members of Parliament. In many ways we have come a long way in 70 years.
Sadly I did find there was a dip in my interest about half way through the film as some scenes felt over repetitive.
Marks 7.5/10

[paolo]

The Darkest Hour was a really good watch, I learnt a lot about the early years of the war during Chamberlain's resignation, with appeasement/peace deals still favoured by the establishment, and a little of the Dunkirk little ships .... I've checked the wikipedia page on this bit of history, it seems it was all accurate except the scene of meeting people on the tube (in a 5 minute journey, for one stop) - but Winnie did chat to the people informally, so that's well within theatrical licence. Not a simple portrayal; the reference by Churchill's wife to "I can't write any more cheques for you" was bang on, as it is well known that he failed to paay his tailor, vintner and tobacconist. An excellent and memorable film.

[mazzaholmes]

Well I had high hopes for the film and was not disappointed!

Performances from entire cast were great but Gary Oldman was OUTSTANDING! I just hope the humour, wit and passion he play Churchill as is true to life!

The storyline is a complicated subject but was easy to follow in this film. A great way to teach people about this important time in history.

All award nominations and wins are thoroughly deserved!!

[alythonian]

I saw this at the Filmhouse this afternoon. We were the youngest in the audience which really did surprise me. It was a stirring performance by Gary Oldman and he thoroughly deserves the plaudits he's been receiving. Interesting to see the Australian Ben Mendelssohn as the King! Good supporting cast. I learnt more about the period I certainly wasn't aware of before.