When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is forced to resign less than a year into the war, Churchill (Oldman) is selected as his only viable replacement. With British resources dwindling, France having already fallen, and the US yet to enter the fray, a contingent led by Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax (Dillane) pushes hard for peace talks with Hitler. Churchill will have none of it, but how do you convince an anxious cabinet, much less an entire nation, to fight what may well be a losing battle? Working from Anthony McCarten’s ingeniously structured script, Darkest Hour draws on a bravura, award-enticing performance from Oldman.
Darkest Hour is reviewed in our January film podcast. Listen at the 8.35 mark.