Movie: Darkest Hour
There's been a bunch of backlash to this movie of the "Churchill was a racist imperialist so we shouldn't have movies about him!" type. This is nonsense and these people are wrong. We should, of course, look at historical figures in as nuanced a manner as possible; this movie does better than many depictions at this, but there's still some work to do. But just saying Churchill was awful and we shouldn't pay attention to his accomplishments doesn't help anyone. It's important to keep in mind that, just as good people can do bad things, people who are problematic can do very good, important things. You don't have to like Churchill but he DID beat Hitler and that's KIND OF IMPORTANT, come on.
Anyway! I liked this! Of course I did! It's probably thoroughly a "you'll like it if you like this kind of thing" movie and I do, in fact, like this kind of thing quite a lot.
Availability: Still hanging out in theaters!
Nominated In:
Best Picture: Not my first choice, but a solidly really good film about an extremely important moment in history. I wouldn't be mad if it won.
Actor in a Leading Role: Yes, Oldman did a really wonderful job here of transforming himself into Churchill without making it feel like a caricature.
Cinematography: Yep. The way it was filmed made me think both "this is gorgeous" and "this is so INTERESTING" several times.
Costume Design: Sure. I'm always a sucker for meticulous period pieces.
Makeup and Hairstyling: YES. I knew I was watching Gary Oldman, and yet I could not keep that fact fixed in my mind because the Churchill makeup (as well as his acting) was so good.
Production Design: Yep. It did a great job of creating this moment in time, from the war rooms to the palace to the streets and underground.
Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.
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