Darkest Hour Ends Up Shining

Darkest Hour (2017)

I have only seen Oscar-bait movies so far this year, and so far Darkest Hour is the best. It was gripping and dark with sprinklings of hope. It was supremely well acted and well scripted and wasn't too long or too short. It was well paced with an excellent score that was an integral part of every major scene. It was basically what I was hoping The Post would be. Darkest Hour did what The Post and All the Money in the World couldn't do, it took a story that we all know the ending to and peppered with intrigue and tension. In the other two movies, it never gave the impression that things would go south, but Darkest Hour was able to create a heavy air of potential failure in a well known historical success. Oldman was unrecognizable and fantastic, but I think the best performance was by Lily James as his assistant. She was so good that I am angry that she will be in the bound-to-be-terrible Mamma Mia sequel. If you are a fan of this period or want to see the homefront side of the Dunkirk rescue, this is the movie for you. I give Darkest Hour, 7 out of 10 rousing, slurred speeches.

Heads up, if you do go see this. Oldman really commits to the Churchill accent and it is difficult to understand what he is saying at times. It requires deep focus to grasp some of his speeches.