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Darkest Hour

19 January 2018English1h 54m
DramaHistoryWar
out of 10
Mixedlukewarm or divided
Monk Score · 11 scored reviews · 3 not rated

Oldman's Churchill carries a film that struggles beyond his performance.

Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.

  • Praised: Gary Oldman's commanding central performance
  • Criticised: Narrative feels like Oscar vehicle

Audience

User score 6.5 out of 10 from 2 ratings, not enough ratings for a verdict yet
Read 2 audience reviews ↓

Not streaming in India

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Critic consensus

What 14 critics are saying

Critical reception for Darkest Hour is generally positive, driven almost entirely by Gary Oldman's performance as Winston Churchill, which reviewers across the board describe as powerful, towering, and among the finest of his career. Beyond Oldman, several critics found the film technically competent and well-produced, with some noting it functions as a useful companion piece to Dunkirk. However, a recurring criticism is that the film is too nakedly constructed as a vehicle for its lead actor, with the narrative itself faulted for losing momentum, pacing issues due to overlong tracking shots, and a reliance on easy sentimentality — particularly a fabricated tube scene singled out as contrived. A few critics also questioned whether the film would hold lasting value beyond its association with Oldman's awards recognition.

How the 11 scores spread

3 not-rated reviews aren't plotted

Positive / mixed / negative reviews

Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10

AI-generated summary of 14 critic reviews · may contain errors

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From the papers

Critic reviews (14)

Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated

  2. Top critic

    Indian Express

    Film review ·

    Darkest Hour can't avoid comparisons with The Crown, where John Lithgow's Churchill reluctantly confronts mortality, and faces questions regarding own leadership. Several actors from the Netflix series pop up here in crucial/similar roles.

  3. Top critic

    Film Companion

    Film review ·

    Wright sets this up an inspiring drama, which culminates in Churchill's watershed 'we shall fight them on the beaches' speech, which we also heard at the end of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. In fact, Darkest Hour works as a nice companion piece to that film. Unlike Nolan however, Wright opts for easy sentimentality. McCarten invents a scene in which Churchill takes the tube for the first time in his life and finds strength in the courage of ordinary Londoners. It's so cheesy that a B-grade Bollywood director would have rejected it. But there is enough to enjoy here. Especially Oldman's towering achievement.

  4. DNA India

    Film review ·

    The biggest drawback of the movie is its speed. Crisp editing would have made a lot of difference if Wright had ignored the temptation of keeping his beloved track shots and top shots.

  5. Mid-Day

    Film review ·

    A wonderful blend of history, art and fiction, this film has the best credentials to take away all the major awards.

  6. Times Of India

    Film review ·

    'Darkest Hour' is pretentiously flawed in its obvious award-baiting, but well produced and rousing enough thanks to Gary Oldman in one of his most impressive performances.

  7. Fully Hyderabad

    Film review ·

    While the movie is competently made, its core intent appears to be to get a legendary actor his long-overdue Oscar and the film might be remembered only as "that film that won Oldman an Oscar" and not much else. You'll remember the poignancy of the "We will fight them at the beaches" speech at the end of Dunkirk more than the elation the same speech tries to induce at the end of this movie.

  8. IBNLive

    Film review ·

    Christopher Nolan beautifully presented the military side of Britain's most vulnerable rescue mission in Dunkirk, where the narrative became the lead, Joe Wright gives it all to Oldman in Darkest Hour. You live the mission alongside Churchill, getting into his skin and his fears and sympathising with him to a point that when the last frame ends, your heart fills with pride, only to realise the massacre the real man brought in your own country. Isn't this an example of brilliant and successful storytelling?

  9. Deccan Chronicle

    Film review ·

    Although not consistently engrossing, the film stands tall on the magnificent performance by Gary Oldman.

  10. Hindustan Times

    Film review ·

    Gary Oldman delivers one of the finest performances of his career in director Joe Wright's technically brilliant but narratively flawed companion piece to Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk.

  11. Rediff

    Film review ·

    Darkest Hour doesn't even pretend to make it about anything else besides Oldman as he gloriously alternates between a exuberant bear, shrewd fox and vociferous lion. Though his animal instincts hit their peak, the script itself begins to lose its edge-of-the-seat momentum and disintegrates to revel in hollow glory and glib eloquence.

  12. SKJBollywoodNews

    Film review ·

    The Darkest Hour never quite expels  the  feeling of being a vehicle for Oldman's virtuosity. Yes, he was born to play Churchill. But was Churchill born so that an actor as skilled as Oldman  could one day play him ?

  13. LiveMint

    Film review ·

    Oldman's Churchill is a terrific imitation, and will probably get him his first Oscar, though I'll probably remember him as the sphinx in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or the punk in Sid and Nancy. As for Wright, I'd take the unbroken five-minute tracking shot along the beach at Dunkirk in his Atonement over the rousing flatteries of Darkest Hour.

From our readers

Audience reviews (2)

2 ratings · user score 6.5

  1. Tejas NairJul 2018
    8/10

    There's a scene in director Joe Wright's Darkest Hour where Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) travels by the tube and mingles with the citizens of his country. As he walks into the Underground, it feels like any other peculiar scene from the film, but then he finds himself inside a tube car with people around him, standing awestruck and in adoration and respect. I was sitting here in my chair with the same feeling as Oldman's Churchill begins talking while his team is discussing an important treaty in other part of the city. There is no doubt that Darkest Hour is an intelligent drama made with enough doses of humor, politics, and embellishments that usually make up a World War II film, but what works for it is the perfect coagulation of all the ingredients. Watching Darkest Hour is like drinking a gallon of water in the middle of a night. The pleasure that you derive from it - be it from Oldman's terrifically nuanced performance or Dario Marianelli's exhilarating score - will have at least a full-day effect on you. It is a 'slice of history' film made in a way to appease its audience, and I, for one, am thoroughly impressed. It's an energetic affair that will make you get up from your chair, rush to the street, and dance like you have just won a war. TN.

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  2. Shashwat SisodiaApr 2020
    5/10

    Gary Oldman-starrer 'The Darkest Hour', a conspicuously made Winston Churchill biographical, is technically stupendous an achievement. As many critics have agreed, it'd be nice to watch it with 'Dunkirk' for a simultaneous pleasure. But then, despite being so beautifully made these films, and finely acted here by Oldman, it just remains a Dunkirk- well a thing to look at, but not essential viewing. I'd pick the Claire-Foy starrer "The Crown Season 1" and recommend it if you want to watch Oldman's Churchill in a better filmmaking-set piece. It's a flawed film, but it's still worth a watch if only to look at the shining assault it'll do to your eyes, sprinkling nothing but simplistic narrative arcs here and there. But I'd suggest to skip it if you are a fan of period drama. It's more politics, even boring at times. 2.5/5.

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