Director: Jonathan Teplitzky
Writer: Alex von Tunzelmann (Screenplay)
Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Julian Wadham, Richard Durden
Plot: 96 hours before the World War II invasion of Normandy, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill struggles with his severe reservations with Operation Overlord and his increasingly marginalized role in the war effort.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Slow Drama
Story: Churchill starts as World War II has been raging on with Operation Overlord about to be actioned, Winston Churchill (Cox) the Prime Minister of England is working with President Dwight Eisenhower (Slattery), but Churchill is questioning the decision knowing that if it fails it would mean defeat.
With D-Day counting down Churchill questions why he is losing power when it comes making decisions in the war with King George VI (Purefoy) and Eisenhower planning the attack, that Churchill constantly sees a problem with as Churchill questions why he can’t lead the men into battle, but Eisenhower refuses to let him knowing if Britain lose Churchill they will lose the order.
Thoughts on Churchill
Characters/Performance – Winston Churchill is considered one if not the greatest Prime Minister Britain has ever had, he came in when no one wanted to lead us to success in defeat the Nazi Germans. This is something we know, this time we watch how he is losing control over the military decisions being made leading up to D-Day the biggest swing in the war. His stubborn behavior can hold him back but in this moment but it is his humanity to not wanting to sacrifice the men for no guaranteed win that shines through here. Clementine Churchill keeps Winston in line when he is about to lose his mind, make bad decisions and knowing just how important the decision being made are. Eisenhower is the President of the United States, he has been working with the King to plan the attack on the Germans, he does clash with Churchill while understand the same problems he knows that this is the only way.
Performance wise, Brian Cox is great as the great man throughout the film, Miranda Richardson also shines in the supporting role showing how she can keep herself crucial to each scene without stealing it. John Slattery does make for a screen presence here too showing this is an all-around very well performed film.
Story – The film does circle around just the 96 hours before D-Day and how Churchill didn’t agree with the mission knowing it was a risk. This is an important moment of the war but only shows that moment which isn’t the part that you want to see, the story feels slow in places which does drag it down as you all you want to see if the build-up even if you skip the battle sequence.
Biography/Thriller – This is a good snippet into the life of Churchill but sadly this isn’t the most interesting as we know his resistance could have given us a very different outcome.
Settings – The settings all look authentic showing the secret meetings, the world where the leaders would be kept away from the know location for safety while planning.
Final Thoughts – This isn’t the best Churchill movie you will see, it doesn’t have the impact it needs to show one of the greatest leaders the world has seen at his highest moment.
Overall: Slow throughout.
Rating
