Darkest Hour

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2:20

Darkest Hour

PG-13

2017

2h 5m

History

Drama

Biography

War

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Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

310 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

The fate of Western Europe hangs on Winston Churchill in the early days of World War II. The newly appointed British prime minister must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler or fight on against incredible odds. During the next four weeks in 1940, Churchill cements his legacy as his courageous decisions and leadership help change the course of world history.

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Critics Consensus

Darkest Hour is held together by Gary Oldman's electrifying performance, which brings Winston Churchill to life even when the movie's narrative falters.

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Robert Daniels

812filmreviews

09/05/2018

3/4

Darkest Hour demonstrates the immense courage Churchill had. It doesn't fully absolve and deify him, rather humanizes.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

08/28/2018

I don't want to undermine my admiration for Gary Oldman's performance, but I think the film itself is flawed.

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Michael Sragow

Film Comment Magazine

03/08/2018

In Darkest Hour, Wright's charged, blustery framework pulls the audience into a distant political landscape. But his approach here is also limiting and nearly wearying.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

04/07/2024

4/5

The film builds its mounting prospects of calamity and clashes of dissension with polish and gumption, avoiding many of the dull notes normally saddling most other behind-the-war-room yak-fests.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/20/2022

4/5

Joe Wright offers up compelling and timely lessons on conviction, persuasion, and the power of bipartisanship – all things our current governments could learn from.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/16/2022

2.5/4

Stirring though the proceedings may sometimes be, Darkest Hour resists absolute immersion so that its audience will notice how much effort went into its making.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 1d

Success in 2 hour and 5 minutes. Rated PG-13 for Some Thematic Material. Academy Award winner in 2018 for Best Actor (Gary Oldman).

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Rune B

@Runeboersjoe Feb 20

The cast is fantastic. However I cannot in good faith recommend a movie that posits itself as "historical", but falsifies entire scenes that inform Churchill's character, such as that on the underground - which never actually happened. A scene that is shown to the audience as being pivotal to Churchill's decision to fight.

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Poojan J.

@pjhaveri Feb 10

Solid but not enough about the war

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Brian D

@Brianwd Feb 8

82%. 2/2/26. Enjoyed learning more about Winston being chosen to be Prime Minister during war time in Europe. Didn't know he was quite so old and basically an alcoholic. Interesting how he wanted war and to defend Britain, while others wanted to broker a peace deal with Hitler. The film took place in a matter of a couple of months in real time. Was fun seeing him create the initiative around Dunkirk and civilians rescuing the soldiers that were trapped in France. Interesting movie, no big need for rewatch. 2.5/5 rewatch

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Brendan M

Jan 12

A deeply gripping and entertaining vignette of leadership from one of history greatest. Superbly well cast and designed. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. Highly recommended.

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Daniela P

@DaniP Dec 31

I had high expectations for this film, but it disappointed me greatly. It’s very repetitive and, honestly, just plain boring. There are countless shots of people walking or running, which feel completely unnecessary. The theme of Churchill disagreeing with his War Cabinet over peace talks with Germany is repeated over and over again, with only minor variations. The film builds tension throughout but never delivers a real climax. The one genuinely exciting episode—the evacuation from Dunkirk—is never even shown! Instead, the film offers tedious scenes of typing letters and telegrams. Exaggerated, melodramatic dialogue doesn’t help either. The only thing I truly appreciated was the stellar cast, with Gary Oldman front and centre. Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough to save the film from feeling like complete torture—for me, at least.

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Joe Wright

Director

Gary Oldman

Winston Churchill

Kristin Scott Thomas

Clementine Churchill

Ben Mendelsohn

King George VI

Lily James

Elizabeth Layton

Ronald Pickup

Neville Chamberlain

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Conquer We Must, Conquer We Shall

2:59

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat

4:06

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - We Shall Fight on the Beaches

4:45

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Churchill & Roosevelt

2:59

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - The People of England

3:12

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Death Before Disarmament

3:26

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Saving Dunkirk

3:00

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - The Campaign of Resistance

3:16

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Subterfuge in the Bunker

2:46

Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Up Your Bum

1:49

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Synopsis

The fate of Western Europe hangs on Winston Churchill in the early days of World War II. The newly appointed British prime minister must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler or fight on against incredible odds. During the next four weeks in 1940, Churchill cements his legacy as his courageous decisions and leadership help change the course of world history.

Director: Joe Wright
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten, Douglas Urbanski
Screenwriter: Anthony McCarten
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Working Title Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Thematic Material)
Genre: History, Drama, Biography, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 6, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $56.3M
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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