Dear Steemians,
As some of you may know, I'm an author, but I also love films. So, I decided to start making reviews of some of the films I watch here on Steemit, to incentivize discussion and listen to your opinions as well.
As it was the most recent film I saw, I decided to start with "Darkest Hour”, a biopic, a movie based on a biography. In this case, we will follow the steps of one of the most prominent politicians in recent History: Winston Churchill. Specifically, the focus of this film is on the first days of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in which he must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler or not.
The film stars one of the greatest actors of all time, in my opinion: Gary Oldman, an actor that I believe has been incredibly undervalued throughout his career. He’s such an amazing actor, and delivered so good performances that seeing that only now he’s about to win an Oscar causes some mixed feelings…
(Yes, and the guy in this photo is the same who portraits Winston Churchill… Incredible, don’t you think?)
Well, in this “Darkest Hour”, Gary Oldman simply kills it. Totally! Incredible performance, you look at Churchill during the film and you can’t believe that the guy behind that character is the same guy who played Gordon in “Dark Knight”, Sirius Black in “Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix”, or George Smiley in “Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy”.
For me, “Darkest Hour” = Garry Oldman. Not to downgrade the rest of the actresses and actors and characters and all, but it’s a one man show, period.
I think this movie is the perfect symbiosis between a remarkable, odd character, who played an important role in Europe’s fate, and an excellent, versatile actor.
The story behind the film is based on true facts, so there’s really not much I can discuss… The script’s construction follows the “standard” rules, a three-act construction, with well-defined plot points, starting with the traditional inciting incident at around page 10… In this case, a letter, a very special letter (and I won’t say more, because I don’t want to spoil anything) 😊 The theme of the film spins around Churchill’s capability of being human, while at the head of a state facing eminent threat of war. It is carried out not only by the main character, but also by his secretary, Elizabeth Layton (portrayed by Lily James), and by Churchill’s wife, Clemmie (played by Kristin Scott Thomas). The film slightly touches another film that came out recently and that I’ll cover later: Dunkirk, by Christofer Nolan. This happens because of Historical reasons. Overall, I think this is a mandatory movie, not only because of Gary Oldman’s performance, but also because Winston Churchill really was a remarkable character, not only politically speaking, but also in a more personal way. It’s inspiring, it has a good pace and a strong plot. Don’t miss it and expect it to win one or more categories at the Oscars 2018!RATING: 8/10
RATING IF GARY OLDMAN WASN’T IN THE FILM: 6/10