Will the real Winston Churchill please stand up? From Albert Finney to Bob Hoskins and Richard Burton in-between, from the most recent John Lithgow (The Crown) and even Christian Slater, who took a comical shot at the role, it’s Gary Oldman who long will be remembered as thee Winston Churchill.
Oldman performs as if he had a good-ole-time with his performance…large, emotional and animated, all you’d expect from this most prestigious of actors. His thinning white hair and prosthetics transform him into Churchill, but his eyes are clearly Oldman…intense, thoughtful and most certainly ticking with thoughtful aggression. It’s rare to find a historical drama that’s electrifying. Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln certainly wasn’t, though perhaps the Oscar winning Colin Firth for The King’s Speech was closest. But it’s Oldman who owns and is owed this entire film’s energy.
While a great leader, Churchill was a contrary one. He loved Spotted Dick [pudding] but hated single spaced sentences. Churchill never took a bus or the tube (when he does it’s an endearing scene) but he knew how to boil an egg because he’d seen it done. He was inquisitive to life yet set in his ways. He may have been sought after as Prime Minister, a job he waited his entire life for, “but that was yesterday so who knows what the country wants today.” His thoughts-out-loud made Churchill comical and disarming. But he was also rough, overbearing and rude. Part of his charm.
When the story opens… Belgium and France are on the verge of surrendering to Hitler who’s already invaded Poland and Denmark. Three-thousand troops have been deployed, and our history lesson begins. The juxtaposition of understanding the world circa 1940 – as then people understood it – force us to sit up straight and truly consider the times.
This is a serious film. The stuff that earns Oscars lined on the mantel. Director Joe Wright juggles an elegant dose of whimsical and sophistication, of history and education.
The most accomplished drama of the year, Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) and Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane) try to encourage Churchill to negotiate with Hitler to spare Britain from invasion of their troops. Initially King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) suspects he’s dealing with a mad man (FYI: Churchill was not the King’s first choice) until Churchill convinces him that his point of view might be valid, thus the film’s most efficient title.
The script is dialogue driven, labor-intense and best screenplay of the year, but it’s also highly entertaining. The story depicts the ability of orators and their skills, something that is a throwback to the dignity and grace of a respected nation.
When Churchill becomes Prime Minister, he turns to a wall of various hats, asking his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas), “Which Churchill shall I be today?” He chooses top hat Churchill. Kristin Scott Thomas delivers an impeccable performance. It’s clear she understood that Churchill’s public life and his love of it, came first.
Churchill raised buoyancy and hope, a larger-than-life man who eventually became a household name worldwide. And Oldman will win the Oscar for all the reasons a historical depiction wins an Oscar. And, then some. 4 tiaras