Darkest Hour, directed by Joe Wright, written by Anthony McCarten, 2h 5min
As with Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn a few years back, there has been a surfeit of films and TV shows featuring Winston Churchill: Churchill, Churchill’s Secret, Dunkirk, The Crown to name just a few. I thought Darkest Hour would be more of the same.
Completely wrong! With the inventive casting of Gary Oldman (consider his range: Sid Vicious to Churchill) America’s all-time favorite British politician is more stirring and real than ever.
Most remember excerpts from his valiant speeches: “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat”(not "Blood, Sweat and Tears!") and “We shall fight on the beaches … we shall never surrender. ” Less well known is his struggle to become Prime Minister in the first place.
The previous Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has been completely discredited since he declared “Peace for our time” after the disastrous 1938 Munich Agreement with Hitler. The Conservative Party is looking for a new leader to replace him.
But they clearly don't want Churchill. Many feel he is unstable and a drunk. Viscount Halifax, the Foreign Secretary and logical successor, turns it down, and the Conservative Party by default settles on the bellicose Churchill. Still remembering the World War I disaster at Gallipoli, King George VI argues against Churchill, but, knowing his opinion is merely advisory, he eventually gives his pro-forma approval.
From the beginning the feisty Churchill has most of his Party against him. Chamberlain and Halifax want him to resign. They even favor a negotiated peace with the bombastic, fascist Mussolini as intermediary. Despite their near treasonous opposition, Churchill continues to rally the country’s morale.
Under the stress of both internal and external threats, even Churchill has doubts, but he is buoyed by his wise and witty wife Clementine, played endearingly, if a tad too glamorously, by Kristin Scott Thomas. Whether invented for the movie or not, his ride on London’s Underground gives him resolve and shows what a great politician, in the best sense of the word, he was.
Oldman plays Churchill with more subtlety and vulnerability than other recent interpretations. There are the usual eccentricities like the constant, but not debilitating, drinking, and his penchant for appearing naked at inappropriate moments. But we see his human side as well, where he relies on “Clemmie” and is understandably uncertain about the course he has charted to defend the homeland.
We know from the beginning there is a triumphant ending, but it is still inspiring to see how much a Great Man like Churchill means to his country, particularly compared to the craven, cowardly politicians that surround him. Given our current leaders, we can only pray that we will never have to face the kind of crises that confronted Churchill.
Grade: A-
Wonder, directed by Stephen Chbosky, written and directed by Chbosky and Steve Conrad, 1h 53min
Wonder is a perfect holiday movie to escape from the chaos of the Trump era and the endless super-hero fantasies at the Cineplex. Plus it has a hopeful, time-proven message that the bully, in the end, never wins. Not in the movies and, we hope, not in “real” life.
While the eventual arc of the plot is predictable, scene by scene Wonder is delightfully creative and relentlessly charming, with a near-perfect cast. You may know where it will end up, but you will be swept up in the many ups and downs of ten-year old Auggie, who was born with devastating birth defects. He has had countless surgeries to help him hear, see and speak and is left with severe facial deformities. Jacob Tremblay, who first starred in 2015’s Room, makes Auggie very real, a kid you root for.
Wearing an astronaut helmet wherever he goes, Auggie has been home schooled, but his parents, Isabel and Nate, decide to enroll him in fifth grade, where he can be around other kids his age who are also starting middle school. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson play the parents just right. Isabel is strong and determined; Nate funny and just as much of a kid as Auggie.
Of course there is the group with its alpha leader, Julian (Bryce Gheisar), that immediately makes fun of Auggie. But he is clearly smarter than all of them and soon makes a friend, Jack Will (Noah Jupe), after Auggie lets him see his answers on a science quiz.
With all the attention on Auggie, his sister Via (Izabela Vidovic) rightly feels neglected, particularly by her mother. She loves Auggie and is always supportive, but she’s at a vulnerable age, particular when her best friend Ella (Erika McKitrick) ignores her after she comes back from summer camp with her hair streaked red. Via’s salvation is a caring boy named Justin (Nadji Jeter), but then she loses the lead to Ella in the drama club’s presentation of Our Town and is even more frustrated.
When Auggie overhears his friend Jack badmouthing him, he is devastated. Both kids are bottoming out, and Isabel and Nate are baffled. But have no fear, everyone’s, fortunes are about to change.
Even given my strong bias towards Julia Roberts (hasn't she been perfect in every role since Mystic Pizza?), objectively she gives a strong, restrained performance as Auggie’s mom. She makes Isabel strong, vulnerable and, most important, loving. Luke Wilson is his usual goofy self, but it works as the sympathetic, uncritical dad.
It is Jason Tremblay, however, that makes this movie. Jason Tremblay is so convincing that you think his face really is misshapen, not transformed by makeup. I hope this gifted young actor can make the tricky transition to adult roles.
There are two noteworthy minor characters: Mandy Patinkin (famed for Homeland) as the headmaster of Auggie’s school, and Daveed Diggs (both Jefferson and Lafayette in Hamilton) as his homeroom teacher. Patinkin’s avuncular style and Diggs's fresh-from-Wall Street sincerity are both very convincing.
Everyone learns something from knowing Auggie, even the bully Julian, with one exception – Julian’s parents. The audience shakes its collective head as they tell the Headmaster they will stop contributing to the school and get their friends on the Board of Trustees to fire him unless he rescinds Julian’s rather mild punishment. Ever know anyone like that?
It’s hard to do a movie like this without being saccharine, but Wonder succeeds. Give yourself a break from all the turmoil and go see it.
Grade: A-
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