What I Watched -- The Darkest Hour

Our last SLIFF film of the festival was Darkest Hour.  We arrived a bit late because it overlapped with the end of the narrative shorts I posted about the other day.

I have a reasonable knowledge of this period of history, which probably aided in my understanding of who was who and what was going on when we walked in mid-meeting between Neville Chamberlain and King George VI. (You might remember King George VI from The King's Speech.)  I knew more or less where things were going, and that Winston, the star of the show, would get the job which Mr. Chamberlain was about to vacate.

Churchill was played by Gary Oldman. He did such a good job as the heavy-drinking new prime minister that there were times that it was difficult to understand what he was saying. (Aside: I have a soft spot in my heart for Gary Oldman, since I first remember encountering him in the film adaptation of Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead, which is when I truly understood the comic genius of both William Shakespeare and Tom Stoppard.)

The remainder of the cast performed well too, although (not unexpectedly), Churchill is the center of attention.

Bottom line: I always love a historical biopic, and this was a good way to end the festival.