Two Tales of One Battle
The Miracle of Dunkirk, as it’s sometimes called, was in May and June 1940 when German forces essentially trapped and cut off Allied soldiers at the French port of Dunkirk. Now, almost 78 years later, there are two movies about the wartime evacuation up for the Best Picture award at the 2018 Oscars.
Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldham as Winston Churchill, is by far the stronger of the two films. The movie begins with the backroom political maneuverings surrounding Neville Chamberlain’s resignation as Prime Minister while England has troops on the continent fighting the Axis powers. When Churchill becomes Prime Minister—a controversial choice—he faces pressure to begin peace talks with Germany while he is also strategizing Operation Dynamo with the British Navy (this plan to use civilian ships eventually led to the rescue of about 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops*).
The movie does an excellent job of showing the various political and personal convictions driving strategies as England fought in what would become WWII, while also showing the basics of the war for those viewers who might not be well-versed in its history. At times Lily James’ character, Elizabeth Layton, stands in for the audience, as Churchill breaks protocol and brings her into the war room to show her the battle-plan map and the vast number of troops trapped at Dunkirk. The relationship between Churchill and Layton—his personal secretary—is the real strength of Darkest Hour. She not only serves as a surrogate audience for movie viewers but also as a sort people’s conscience for Churchill himself. One of the most moving scenes in the movie is her sharing with him her personal connection to the troops.
That Lily James isn’t nominated for an Oscar is a shame (although I don’t know who she would replace; the nominees for Best Supporting Actress this year are all strong). Joe Wright, the director, has an impressive career of showcasing a woman’s perspective (see Pride & Prejudice, Anna Karenina, and Atonement, to name a few). My other favorite scene is when Churchill’s family celebrates his being named Prime Minister. His wife, Clementine (played by an always-remarkable Kristin Scott Thomas), toasts his achievements while also acknowledging the sacrifices his family made to get him there. It’s a moment not often seen in tales of great men. (Watch that clip below.)
Dunkirk, the other film to dramatize this historic WWII evacuation, also shows men making brave, and sometimes cowardly, decisions. Because the movie provides three perspectives of the evacuation (the men on the coastline, the men in the sea, and the men in the air) the cast is big with Christopher Nolan regulars like Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy along with Kenneth Branagh, James D’Arcy, (notoriously) Harry Styles, and a stand-out performance by Mark Rylance as one of the civilian captains. Nolan’s direction and storytelling plays with time in an interesting way that grabs and keeps your attention (I won’t spoil the specifics), and while moments in the movie are very emotional and moving, overall Dunkirk doesn’t have the lasting impact that Darkest Hour holds.
Although I’m not typically a fan of war movies, it was a surprising treat to see these two films as together they present a comprehensive view of a seemingly miraculous moment in an otherwise dark war.
*Read more about the Miracle at Dunkirk at Encyclopedia Britannica.
(Publicity stills from Darkest Hour provided by Focus Features.)
