During the early days of World War II, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler, or fight on against incredible odds.
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Within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation. As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe and the threat of invasion is imminent, and with an unprepared public, a skeptical King, and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must withstand his darkest hour, rally a nation, and attempt to change the course of world history. Written by
Focus Features
Extensive makeup was used to transform Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill, but to call this "aging" makeup would not be entirely accurate. In May 1940, Churchill was 65 years, 6 months old. Oldman turned 59 during filming. See more »
Goofs
Churchill says Edward Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax would never have turned down the offer to be prime minister as he was the fourth son of an earl. However, Halifax was the son of a viscount, not an earl, a mistake that Winston Churchill would not have made. Edward Wood was made 1st Earl of Halifax in 1944. Though he was indeed the youngest of four sons, all his brothers died young. From the age of 8 years old, he was his father's sole heir, and thus he would not have grown up feeling deprived of a dignity by order of birth, as is implied in the dialogue. See more »
In the Q&A that followed the BAFTA screening for this superb film Gary Oldman called this a love letter to the British people. That seems appropriate for a wonderful telling of a brand new aspect of what made Churchill the greatest man of the last century and perhaps of all time.
Because this film shows us just how much pressure Halifax and weaker members of the British establishment, put on Churchill to do a deal with Adolf Hitler. A deal that would have preserved the British Empire instead of bankrupting it to the tune of £145 Billion. (Junkers please note). You will learn much about Britain and Churchill and the crisis of May 1940 in this terrific film.
Gary is as absolutely spell binding just as you would expect him to be. What you might not expect is an equally amazing performance by Ben Mendelssohn as King George (Ben was the the bad brother in Blood Lines). Lilly James is also super as the long suffering secretary to to Winston and Kristen Scott Thomas almost steals each scene as Clemmie, Winston's wife.
The film isn't perfect. The scene on the London Underground was silly and irritating and more money should have been spent on the computer graphics. But I still give this a score of 10 because of something unexpected.
The film is emotional. I felt myself choked up on 3 occasions not just because I am a Brit who loves the story but because Joe Wright takes us into the hearts of the characters and makes us feel their fear, their hope and their pain.
Lastly the film is a wonderful reminder that Britain is special and different. It cannot be taken away that we did stand alone, without hope, without support from the USA, when all seemed lost. A salient reminder to remoaners that Europe often needs Britain. This is a cracker of a film. Don't miss it.
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In the Q&A that followed the BAFTA screening for this superb film Gary Oldman called this a love letter to the British people. That seems appropriate for a wonderful telling of a brand new aspect of what made Churchill the greatest man of the last century and perhaps of all time.
Because this film shows us just how much pressure Halifax and weaker members of the British establishment, put on Churchill to do a deal with Adolf Hitler. A deal that would have preserved the British Empire instead of bankrupting it to the tune of £145 Billion. (Junkers please note). You will learn much about Britain and Churchill and the crisis of May 1940 in this terrific film.
Gary is as absolutely spell binding just as you would expect him to be. What you might not expect is an equally amazing performance by Ben Mendelssohn as King George (Ben was the the bad brother in Blood Lines). Lilly James is also super as the long suffering secretary to to Winston and Kristen Scott Thomas almost steals each scene as Clemmie, Winston's wife.
The film isn't perfect. The scene on the London Underground was silly and irritating and more money should have been spent on the computer graphics. But I still give this a score of 10 because of something unexpected.
The film is emotional. I felt myself choked up on 3 occasions not just because I am a Brit who loves the story but because Joe Wright takes us into the hearts of the characters and makes us feel their fear, their hope and their pain.
Lastly the film is a wonderful reminder that Britain is special and different. It cannot be taken away that we did stand alone, without hope, without support from the USA, when all seemed lost. A salient reminder to remoaners that Europe often needs Britain. This is a cracker of a film. Don't miss it.