DARKEST HOUR
Director: Joe Wright
Cert PG13, 125 minutes
It is very difficult telling people the truth they don’t wish to hear. You end up making many enemies.
This was the case with Winston Churchill who, throughout the 1930s, had warned against the complacency of the British Government towards the rise of Adolf Hitler.
Attempted stab in the back
Churchill became Prime Minister in the critical days of May 1940. The film dramatises the way in which the chief appeasers, Lord Halifax and Neville Chamberlain, tried to unseat him, from what they saw as good motives,
The film is essentially an exploration of Churchill’s mental struggles under this pressure, as he knew that the self-styled Führer had to be opposed, but knew also that this would cost many lives from the younger generation. It is a study in the loneliness of leadership, especially leadership driven by conviction, not simply pragmatism. Many faithful pastors will understand this and probably benefit from the film’s insights as we once again battle for the survival of, in Churchill’s phrase, ‘Christian civilisation’, though on a different level.
Supporting the man
The two women in his life are of immense importance; his secretary Elizabeth Layton, who had to handle his temper and eccentricities and his wife Clemmie, who is shown as providing clear-headed advice, love and encouragement.
There is also a theme (depicted in a fictional journey of Churchill on a tube train) which conveys the idea that, apart from King George VI, the British moneyed classes were prepared to cooperate with Hitler, while it was the ordinary citizens of this country who knew that he had to be confronted and so gave Churchill self-belief.
The story was well known to me. I wondered if it would be worth seeing. But Gary Oldman’s portrayal of Churchill is extraordinarily convincing. I was gripped and found it inspiring.
