Before I start the review for Darkest Hour, we might as well get one thing out of the way. Gary Oldman (Sid and Nancy, The Dark Knight Rises) will win this year’s Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Whoever the other four nominees don’t even need to show up for the ceremony. Buried in thick coats of makeup and padding that make him unrecognizable, Oldman (who was only six years younger in real life than the many he was portraying on screen was at the time of this movie but who clearly takes better care of himself physically than the man he is portraying) pulls off one of the most remarkable actor character transformations in recent memory in his portrayal of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  His performance will draw comparisons to Colin Firth’s portrayal of King George VI (who ironically was a character in this movie) in 2010s The King’s Speech, a role in which he earned numerous awards, including the coveted Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Oscar. When an actor’s performance is so much greater than that of his peers in a given year, I often compare that role against previous years’ roles. If Darkest Hour came out last year, Oldman would have beat Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) and had it come out in 2015, Oldman would have given Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) a run for his money. Ultimately, though, this is a movie review site and not an acting review site. Darkest Hour is a good movie but, in my opinion, doesn’t rival The King’s Speech, Manchester by the Sea, or The Revenant in terms of entertainment and lasting impact. But in terms of the importance of telling its story and doing so in a way that keeps the audience interested and educated, Darkest Hour tops the other three.
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