Gary Oldman as Churchill inspires in Darkest Hour

Darkest Hour is no Dunkirk. It is an old-fashioned and conventionally structured historical biopic. Thank heavens, then, for the transformative performance of Gary Oldman.

DARKEST HOUR (PG)

Rating: three and a half stars (3.5 out of 5)

Director: Joe Wright (Atonement)

Starring: Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, Stephen Dillane.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man with a plan

MUCH has already been made of the magnificence of Gary Oldman’s portrayal of iconic British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

In years to come (particularly if, as expected, Oldman wins the coming Best Actor Oscar), it will be the deeply transformative nature of this performance for which the film will be remembered.

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Gary Oldman energises an otherwise old-fashioned, conventionally structured Darkest Hour. Picture: Supplied

However, if we were to take a step back from all that justifiable hype, most will immediately recognise Darkest Hour as a direct companion piece to the recent WWII masterpiece Dunkirk.

Indeed, these are the very same events, processed from a radically different (and noticeably less compelling) perspective.

This time, the day will be saved for those many thousands of troops stranded on a windswept French beach by one man waddling down the corridors of power in London.

With a little unforeseen luck and a lot of intestinal fortitude, Winston Churchill became the crucial keeper of a flame of resistance that would ultimately keep an all-too-possible Nazi invasion of Great Britain at bay.

Cinematically speaking, Darkest Hour is no Dunkirk. It is as old-fashioned (sepia-toned cinematography, sweeping orchestral score, etc) and conventionally structured as these kind of prestige historical biopics can be.

Thank heavens, then, for the amazing work of Oldman.

Oldman dazzles as Winston Churchill. Picture Focus Features

The performances of the supporting cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas, are unfairly shoved into the shadows by Oldman. Picture: Focus Features

Though the use of prosthetics and padding has easily placed the actor in the same roly-poly physical spectrum as Churchill, it is his channelling of the spirit of the man that achieves the greatest impact here.

During the period depicted in Darkest Hour, Churchill was yet to become the indefatigable elder statesman now fixed in so many people’s memories.

As a relatively unpopular choice of PM and with a lot of blemishes on his track record, Churchill had a lot to prove in one of the most trying times in his nation’s history.

Oldman seizes upon his character’s many flaws and magically turns them into saving graces: Churchill’s rapid swings between self-confidence and self-doubt, his unbridled love of his own voice, his willingness to send himself up, and his stubborn refusal to yield any ground.

It is such a dazzling star turn from the lead actor that the well-pitched performances of his supporting cast — including Kristin Scott Thomas as Churchill’s wife Clementine, and a wonderful Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI — are almost unfairly shoved into the shadows.

@leighpaatsch