Focus Features
Hollywood (or the film industry) is a funny thing. It seems like every couple of years there are competing films about the same subject which leads to a lot of hair-pulling and schedule shenanigans to give enough space between the films. 2017 was no different with filmmakers (British ones at that) focusing on pivotal moments of World War II, specifically the rescue of 300,000 British soldiers from the beach at Dunkirk. Their Finest had the mission as a subplot, Dunkirk focused mainly on the soldiers and the civilian armada that was sent to fetch them, and Darkest Hour stays in Britain as Winston Churchill grapples with the dilemma of saving the men or letting the Germans take them all.
I really enjoyed Their Finest, but felt Dunkirk was a bit over-rated. It’s a technical marvel but really lacks in the storytelling and emotional connection. Darkest Hour has the best of both worlds and a tour de force performance from Gary Oldman to boot. Our own Jeremy Fogelman reviewed Darkest Hour upon its theatrical release, so I will not recap too much but if you haven’t read the review or yet seen the movie, it’s definitely worth your time. The story takes place in May 1940 and Great Britain’s prime minister Neville Chamberlain has lost the faith of his party due to his dreadful handling of Hitler which has put the country on the brink of an invasion. Next in line, Lord Hallifax, doesn’t want the job so they grudgingly agree to offer the PM position to Winston Churchill, a man admired by the commoners but not by the government or the king.
Darkest Hour takes place only within a five month period of time with Churchill up against the opposition, who want to enter into peace talks with Hitler, and makes the decision to continue fighting because he doesn’t want to give anything away to the Fuerhrer, but he also has to decide what to do about the men at Dunkirk. That he perseveres in the face of such opposition is remarkable (and with no help at all from the US, even with a call directly to FDR), of course saving the men and keeping the United Kingdom a sovereign nation.
Darkest Hour offers an entertaining history lesson on Churchill, incorporating four of his most famous speeches written within a five month period. Aside from his political duties, the film also gives insight into the man through his interactions at home with his wife Clementine and his new secretary Elizabeth Layton. These scenes show a softer, often pensive man saddled with the responsibility of life or death for so many of his countrymen. The film also includes a cute scene of Churchill sneaking off to the Underground to get a feel from ‘the people’ about what he should do — surrender or fight. It’s a purely fictional moment, however the screenwriter has done his research and knows that Churchill was known to disappear and mingle with his fellow man to get a feel for things, so while the Underground scene isn’t documented, Churchill could very well have done something similar.
The acting is superb all around from Kristin Scott Thomas to Lily James to Ben Mendelsohn (filling the shoes once worn by Colin Firth when he played King George VI in The King’s Speech). But the movie belongs to Gary Oldman, long hailed as one of our finest working actors and he proves it here. Buried under a ton of prosthetics, Oldman totally loses himself in Churchill (so much so that some historians seeing photos from the film thought they were actual pictures of Churchill) visually and aurally. And the makeup by Kazuhiro Tsuji is simply stunning. With the detail on Blu-ray, one might fear you’ll see all the edges and plasticity of the prosthetics, but this work is stunning. Director Joe Wright was not afraid to go in for some tight close-ups and you can even see pores in the appliances. It is truly remarkable work and makes Oldman’s performance all the more real.
With Darkest Hour now out on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital, you can marvel at this work at home. The Blu-ray image, as noted, is sharp and clear with nice colors that never lose their vibrancy even in the darkened bunkers where a lot of the film takes place. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack allows the surrounds to carry the sound effects from large doors closing to the clatter of the Underground, but keeps the main dialog front and center, an important point especially as Churchill delivers his speeches in the cavernous hall of Parliament which echoes all around you. It is a terrific visual and audio presentation all around.
For a film that has been so well-regarded, the bonus features on the Blu-ray are a bit sparse. The best feature, something that has been lacking from a lot of video releases in the recent past, is a director’s commentary that covers the production of the film, the locations, performances, timeline and more. If you like to know what goes into making a movie, Joe Wright offers some good insight on this track. Other bonus features included are:
- Into Darkest Hour (8:16) – A brief look at the making of the film, the cast, the costumes and more.
- Gary Oldman: Becoming Churchill (4:19) – A disappointingly short look at the actor’s process of becoming Churchill that barely touches on the amazing makeup, which could have used its own featurette.
While the less than 13 minutes of bonus material is a disappointment, the audio commentary and the video and audio quality of the Blu-ray, not to mention Gary Oldman’s performance, make Darkest Hour a strong contender for your video library.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment generously provided Hotchka with a Blu-ray versions of the films for reviewing purposes.
Darkest Hour has a run time of 2 hours 5 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some thematic material.
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