Movie Review: Darkest Hour (Rating: 5/5)

This film is about how the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill handled the almighty German armies during World War II, while managing all the political conflicts in his own cabinet. 

The story starts with Churchill (played by Gary Oldman) being appointed to be Prime Minister, simply because of political bargaining between the governing and opposition parties. He was not liked by his own party or the King. (yes there was still a King in England in that period of time). But as the story progresses, he was able to unite all the different parties on fighting the powerful Germans, and to form a special friendship with the King due to his refreshing candor.

The best thing about this movie is definitely the cast performance. Aside from the great supporting cast, the fantastic performance from Oldman makes an indispensable contribution to the success of this film.  Not only with the makeup, but also the accents and the way to walk, Oldman has totally transformed himself into Churchill. Unlike the previous movies such as The Dark Knight, you will not find any trace of Oldman himself in this film. 

Oldman was able to show us all the different qualities of Churchill. For instance, he showed us the humorous aspect when being appointed as Prime Minister, because he knows he is the last person his party will ever want for the job.  We can also see his humane side when knowing the brother of his new typist (played by Lily James), is enlisted in a suicide mission for saving a large group of British soldiers. And for the huge decision on whether or not to fight the Germans, we can see the doubts in his eyes when considering a peace negotiation, and the courage in his voice when decided going to war. 

Oldman has already won the Best Actor of Golden Globe for 2018, and he is definitely a serious contender for the same category in upcoming Oscars on March 4th. 

After watching this film, some people are comparing Churchill with the current UK Prime Minister, who seems to be struggling in Brexit at the present time. Perhaps, it takes a person with similar qualities as Churchill in order to sail through the rough waters in UK for the next few years.