SPOILER ALERT

Set in tandem with the recent release, of Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” “Darkest Hour” explored the pivotal moment in British history — whether Great Britain would sue for peace, or wage war on the fascists of Nazi Germany. 

The plot of the movie follows the true story of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill after he forms a new government in 1940. This is in the wake of predecessor Neville Chamberlain’s inability to quell the Nazi threat. Churchill entered office with an incredibly poor reputation and had to work from the ground-up to earn the respect of his fellow members of Parliament. 

Whereas Churchill’s contemporaries wished to seek peace with the aggressive Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, via Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Churchill held true to the old British homage and kept muddling through. He bravely refused to surrender, in a move that some determined as insanity. 

As the movie progressed, many of Churchill’s parliamentary contemporaries stood in opposition to their prime minister. Lord Halifax, Neville Chamberlain and King George VI are all stalwart enemies of the war, and wish to sue for peace in order to prevent Britain from being invaded. All is changed as King George VI comes to see Churchill’s point of view and encourages him to press on. 

After winning parliament’s support, the screen goes dark, and the text on it reports that in 1945, the Allies declared victory whilst Churchill was in office, even though he was voted out in the next cycle. 

The film held true to the historic event, with some dramatic elaborations. Winston Churchill, though stalwart and defiant of the Nazis, was hardly as charismatic and inspiring as Gary Oldman’s inspiring portrayal made him seem. Additionally, the movie did not shed any light on the context of Hitler’s image. Most saw him to be an efficient and authoritative leader — the news of the Nazi atrocities in the Holocaust were unknown until later in the war. 

Perhaps the most compelling scene of the movie was when Churchill, a man said to have never rode the London Underground in his life, visited and asked the passengers for their input in the issue. The citizens showed the non-capitulating attitude of countrymen and women who would fight the Nazis to the death, all to avoid surrender to the dictatorial Hitler. 

Many critics felt that “Darkest Hour” romanticized Churchill in a fantastic way. Though the man led his country through a troublesome time in history and was rightly praised for his defiance, his personal beliefs and actions pertaining to India were not touched upon. Churchill was highly xenophobic toward the Indians and opposed “Ghandi-ism.” On top of this, he fought against Irish independence.

Critics praised the movie for Gary Oldman’s performance as Churchill. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 86 percent, with an average rating of 7.4. The film received a Metascore of 75 percent and a Userscore of 7.5 on Metacritic. 

The movie has a run-time of 125 minutes, and has accumulated more than 28 million dollars, according to Rotten Tomatoes. 

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