Critical Response: Darkest Hour
Directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten, “Darkest Hour” is a 2017 war drama film set in the 1940s United Kingdom. The film depicts the early days of Winston Churchill as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War and the War Cabinet crisis. In the film, Winston Churchill’s resilience is primarily influenced by his journey to self-discovery. First of all, Churchill is not afraid of being himself, and he knows what he wants in life. Due to Germany’s invasion and success in various nations across Western Europe, multiple top governments are ready to make peace treaties with Germany. On the other hand, Churchill refuses to negotiate for peace with Germany. And this is because Winston fosters self-interests and beliefs, which makes it easy for him to see the facet of his life.
Just like Churchill, being truthful to self enables the discovery of personal goals and passion, which are the foundations of resilience. Due to self-discovery, Churchill voices his opinions, irrespective of what others think. The former Prime Minister Chamberlin and Halifax, who are working with, are no happy with Churchill’s refusal to negotiate for peace with Germany. As a result, they plan a vote of no confidence to remove Churchill as the Prime minister. Churchill Winston’s fearlessness to express self-interests makes him a highly resilient character. When Churchill is finally invited to meet the king, it is a new sunny day. The director utilizes lighting (chiaroscuro) to control the interplay between light and dark. And this is important because it presents Churchill Winston’s invitation to the palace in merciless daylight. What is more, it gives the film certain grace and prevents the visual style from drawing so much attention to itself.
The utilization of daylight and bright colouring is essential in the movie because it visually enhances the film’s emotional aspects. It is fundamental for film directors to understand the best way of portraying the themes by enhancing various colours and lighting. It helps guide the audience’s emotional response, which could stay in the audience’s minds even after the movie has ended. In Churchill Winston’s case, the bright daylight indicates a new beginning to the British political system; especially, in the wake of Germany’s invasion in Western Europe. After Churchill becomes the prime minister, he expresses the art of resilience when Britain faced the threat of real attack. At one point, Churchill realizes that France did not counter-attack Germany after they invaded Belgium and the Netherlands. As a result, Churchill draws ire from his cabinet and advisers for delivering a radio address in which he falsely implies the Allies to be advancing in France (Universal, 2017).
Secondly, as Winston addresses the parliament, he insists that the United Kingdom shall fight to the beaches if Germany invades (Universal, 2017). In the initial stages, nobody likes Winston’s Churchill resilience, including Halifax and Chamberlin, who were in his team. However, due to Churchill’s resistance and consistency, President Roosevelt is sympathetic to Winston’s plight and wants to help. However, it is not possible since the isolationist Congress and neutrality laws have limited the United States’ participation in the war. Churchill was elected because he was the only candidate the opposition labour party would accept. However, his resilience and refusal for a peace treaty with Germany indicate how strong a leader he is, and even King George Six ends up liking Churchill.
Reference
Universal (2017). Darkest Hour. Universal Pictures. https://www.universalpictures.co.uk/micro/darkest-hour