Each week, locals Cole Schneider and Matt Greene share their different takes on new movies out in area theaters. For podcasts and more, visit MovietownMovieClub.com

 

Matt: 'Darkest Hour' digs deep

"Darkest Hour" could have been just another bland yet passable biopic. It certainly has the glossy, patriotic soul of something like "Lincoln." However, where "Lincoln" tends more toward sanctimonious worship and Hollywood dramatics, "Darkest Hour" director Joe Wright (mostly) dodges those inclinations in favor of honest engagement and high entertainment. Much like Winston Churchill himself, "Darkest Hour" is a reminder of the power of great words delivered well to affect and thrill.

During Hitler’s conquest of Europe, Britain was going through a changing of the guard, in which a brash but brilliant Churchill became the Prime Minister and headed up the UK’s stand against tyranny. Funny enough, much of the focus is on the conflict at Dunkirk, making it a great companion to that Christopher Nolan film from earlier in 2017.

But where that movie took place on the frontlines of the battle, here we spend our time in the backrooms with Gary Oldman’s Churchill, and honestly … what can I say? He’s completely stunning in the role. Sure, the seamless makeup is doing a ton of work, but Oldman is definitely pulling his own ample weight. The accent, the little quirks, the thin line between resolve and stubbornness; we’re consistently reminded that, while Churchill was a certainly great man, he was also just a man.

Wright ("Atonement") has a great knack for thinking through his films from an audience perspective. Yes, there’s plenty of thematic import to the filmmaking; the playfully intense score, symmetric cinematography, and steady editing all capture the necessary disruption of Churchill in the order of Parliament. Yet even though he makes frou-frou, high falutin’ period pieces, he always focuses on the understanding and interest of we-the-crowd, giving us a hyper-stylized and surprisingly cool historical trip.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

Cole: 'Darkest Hour' disappoints

Many movies aim to challenge us and many more to please us, but all the good ones provoke us in some way or another. Good movies can come in many different packages, and with many aims, but there remains no movie worth my time or money if it offers nothing compelling and lacks any reason whatsoever to exist, as does this new Winston Churchill biopic, “Darkest Hour."

I’m perhaps being a bit snarky. The film does have a singular aim and has clearly been meticulously crafted to meet the highest standards of its type — it wants nothing more than to win awards. Director Joe Wright wants to win awards despite presenting the world with as arid a film as we saw released in 2017. Actor Gary Oldman wants to win awards despite taking on a role less satisfying than most of his previous performances.

One might say Wright’s camera movements are elegant. OK, but to what end? One might say Oldman gives us the definitive characterization of Churchill. OK, but he still never gives us anything beyond the noble English hyper-patriot recognizable from all other impersonations we’ve seen before.

The film is structured mostly like every other bad, formulaic biopic, but eventually it gives way to a different genre, feeling more and more like a bad, platitudinous sports flick with Churchill reduced to being a Division II college football coach giving clichéd halftime speeches to rouse his team to victory. Unfortunately, “Darkest Hour” is even less entertaining than all that sounds. Perhaps I’m being coy rather than snarky.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars