Joe Wright's "Dark Hours" review: Gary Oldman at the top!

The 2018 cinematic year starts strong with a biopic at the top of the top! Carried by a Gary Oldman at the top of his form, The Dark Hours tells the story of the arrival in power of the legendary Winston Churchill during the Second World War. An interesting story that, although fictionalized, offers a mature and exciting point of view on these historical events. Focus! 

A Gary Oldman simply perfect

What to say about Gary Oldman… He is at the same time Dracula, Sirius Black (Harry Potter), Inspector Gordon (trilogy The Dark Knight), Lee Harvey Hoswald (JFK), Norman Stanfield (Leon), Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (The Fifth Element)… This man has performed so many cult roles that he has gradually acquired the status of living legend for moviegoers around the world. However, it was easy to express reservations about the choice of this actor for the role of Winston Churchill. Not that we doubt his talent, but we must admit that the physical resemblance is… How to say? Totally non-existent! 

Yet, what a tour de force the film operates in the metamorphosis of the actor. Not only does Oldman now look like Winston Churchill, but he also plays him perfectly. Both endearing and charismatic, the actor gives everything he has in this major role. After all, Churchill is a hell of a piece to perform, physically certainly, but also in terms of character. This is where Gary Oldman shows us all his dramatic power. He juggles perfectly between the verbal violence of the former Prime Minister and his heightened sensitivity. He knows how to be brutal, while knowing how to calm down to interpret us an emotional character and plagued by doubt. In short: another success on the part of the British actor, who shows us once again to be able to interpret EVERYTHING (after Churchill, we expect him at the turn in the role of Martin Luther-King or Margaret Thatcher … If so! After seeing this movie, you too will believe it!). 

Endearing characters in a classy staging

When making a biopic, it is easy to fall into the insipid or even boring historical film. However, it is impressive to see how this work does not lose strength despite its two-hour duration. This is due to two elements that, combined, offer us a very pleasant film to watch. 

The first element is the writing of the characters. If we think of course of Churchill, whose psychology logically overlooks the whole film, the other characters are not left out either. Clementine Churchill, for example, is a loving wife but also a very strong woman, able to stand up to the cantankerous grumbler (and the expression is weak) that is her husband. Kristin Scott Thomas' impeccable performance impeccably transcribes the character of this endearing and robust wife.

Ben Mendelsohn is also stunning as King George VI. However, the task was not easy. Recall that he passes after the grandiose Colin Firth, Oscar winner for the same role in The King's Speech. However, Mendelsohn offers us a remarkable performance, revealing a stern character whose shell gradually crumbles in the face of the good man that is Churchill. Even if it is difficult to dissociate fiction from history with a capital H, it is pleasant as a spectator to imagine that the relationships were of this order between the characters.

To these very well described human relationships, is added a staging that is both dynamic and classy. The dark hours manages not to fall into the trap of the monotonous biopic and surprises by the rhythm it imposes on the viewer. The film perfectly captures the ongoing stress that a war imposes on its citizens but also on its policies. It demonstrates that despite their privileged status, politicians who really felt concerned about the conflict were under absolutely stratospheric pressure. This is why The Dark Hours is particularly successful. In addition to giving a real humanity to its characters (even the less important ones), it allows a rather vertiginous dive behind the scenes of the Second World War through its energetic realization. But this vitality in the realization is not its only strong point. We still remain in a very English setting, which implies a certain restraint (it's not as if our English neighbors are straddling labels and discipline…). As a result, the film keeps an excellent look and knows how to land when it needs to. This alternation of rhythm very well controlled thus keeps the viewer in suspense throughout the viewing.  

Exciting, elegant, dynamic and wonderfully interpreted, The Dark Hours is a film that allows cinema to start the year 2018 in style! A beautiful tribute to Winston Churchill, the cigar-smoking politician who released so many punchlines that collections were published.To discover absolutely! 

Dark Hours trailer