• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Movie Review

    Gary Oldman gives Oscar-worthy performance as Churchill in Darkest Hour

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 8, 2017 | 2:14 pm
    Gary Oldman gives Oscar-worthy performance as Churchill in Darkest Hour
    play icon

    For some reason, 2017 is the year British filmmakers have decided to commemorate the 1940 evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II, albeit each in much different ways.

    Christopher Nolan took the straightforward approach, showing the military on the beach and their would-be civilian rescuers in Dunkirk. Their Finest involved filmmakers tasked with making a movie about the evacuation. And now Darkest Hour goes inside the British government to show how Prime Minister Winston Churchill and others dealt with the perilous situation.

    As the film begins, Churchill (Gary Oldman) is named prime minister following a vote of no confidence for his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup). Churchill must try to gain the trust of the opposition party, something that’s especially difficult when his goal — to defend England at all costs — is at odds with their desire to broker a peace agreement with the advancing German army.

    While the film contains politics aplenty, it also looks to humanize Churchill. It shows him at home with his wife, Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas); in one-on-one meetings with King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) and others; and in personal interactions with his secretary, Elizabeth Layton (Lily James). Churchill comes off as strong-willed yet approachable rather than the standoffish curmudgeon he’s said to be by multiple characters.

    As with any historical film, it’s unlikely that the events transpired exactly as they’re depicted. But director Joe Wright, working from a script by Anthony McCarten, makes them feel real, giving the whole story a sense of urgency. Part of that is the built-in time limit Churchill has to make decisions, a countdown that gets more stressful as story builds. But he also has a sense of what’s necessary and what isn’t, paring down the film to its essence to keep the tension high.

    He also finds ways to make material that could be dry riveting instead. The film contains power plays by rivals, debates inside war rooms and parliament chambers, and even a literal polling of the people. Each is as compelling as the last thanks to McCarten’s crackling dialogue and Wright’s keen direction.

    What’s especially interesting is that Churchill is shown trying to rally his nation by being an unabashed proponent of war. Viewed through the prism of time, it’s easy to see Churchill’s decision as the right one, but the film also shows the courage it took to make it at that particular point in history.

    The biggest reason for the film’s success, though, is the incredible performance by Gary Oldman. At least, I think it was Oldman, because he’s absolutely unrecognizable underneath the astonishing makeup he’s wearing. Combined with his uncanny vocals and mannerisms, it’s one of the most fully realized performances of a historical figure in recent memory. He and the film’s makeup crew have to be the front runners at next year’s Oscars.

    It’s unclear why Dunkirk became such a focal point in British movies this year, but the stories revolving around it resulted in three of the best films of 2017. Darkest Hour may be the best of them all, illuminating a moment in time through great storytelling and one unforgettable performance.

    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour.

    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour
      
    Photo by Jack English/Focus Features
    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour.
    movies
    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    Toyota Music Factory in Irving officially unveils 3 new restaurants

    Peach cobbler concept to open 2 locations at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

    Restaurant-bar siblings to open in century-old downtown Dallas building

    This Week's Hot Headlines

    11 DFW companies deemed best places to work and more popular stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jun 7, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Downtown Dallas
    Photo by NotOnlyJames on Unsplash
    undefined

    Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week begins with big accolades for nearly a dozen workplaces. Plus, Frisco tops a new national ranking, and new restaurants make their Toyota Music Factory debut. Catch up on our most popular Dallas stories below, and then head to our event planner for the best things to do this weekend.

    1. 11 Dallas-Fort Worth companies named best places to work by U.S. News. Nearly a dozen distinguished Dallas-Fort Worth-based companies have been hailed among the best places to work in 2025 by U.S. News and World Report.

    2. Dallas neighbor is the No. 1 fastest-growing affordable city in U.S. A new national study has declared Texas is home to the most affordable, fast-growing cities in the country, with Dallas suburb Frisco taking the lead at No. 1.

    3. Texas slumps on list of best U.S. state economies for 2025. After riding high among the top five best state economies in 2024, Texas' robust economy may be showing some cracks. Texas now ranks as the state with the 8th best economy, four spots lower than last year's ranking, according to a new WalletHub report.

    4. Toyota Music Factory in Irving officially unveils 3 new restaurants. A trio of new restaurants have debuted at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, one of which is a familiar name.

    JaxonGet a burger from Jaxon at Toyota Music Factory.Photo courtesy of Jaxon

    5. Award-winning chef team to open Mexican restaurant in east Dallas. A Dallas pop-up from an award-winning chef team has found a permanent home. Molino Olōyō, the acclaimed Mexican culinary concept obsessed with heirloom corn, will open a brick-and-mortar at 4422 Gaston Ave. in east Dallas.

    most popular storiesrankingsus news & world reportfriscobest places to workeconomytexasopeningseast dallashot-headlines
    news/entertainment
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Dallas intel delivered daily.
    Loading...