Set during the days leading up to D-Day in June 1944, Churchill is a study of a man unable to cope with his waning influence on a war that he has done so much to win. With General Eisenhower in overall command of the allied forces and his plans backed up by his other officers, Winston Churchill is becoming somewhat of a marginalised figure.
The first thing to be said is the evidence to back-up the story portrayed here is pretty flimsy. Churchill is shown as vehemently opposed to the plans for Operation Overlord, fearful what the casualty count may be. I imagine that portrayal will offend a lot of people, and I was a little uncomfortable with it at times, but it did make for a fascinating film.
It also, intentional or not, helps explain how Churchill suffered a loss in the 1945 general election, before the war was over, ushering in the way for massive social reform via the most progressive government in this country’s history. I mention that may have been unintentional as the blurb on-screen at the end of the film makes no mention of it, whereas it does state that Churchill continued to lead his party until he was 80 years old.
Director Jonathan Teplitzky does not show us any action from the landings and the assault on the German forces. For that, you should revisit The Longest Day which still stands as the ultimate film portraying the events. Instead we have the planning involving the military commanders, the deliberations over when the mission will start and insights into Churchill’s private life.
Brian Cox is great in the titular role. His accent may waver at times, but he captures the leader’s demeanour and gait really well. There is excellent support from Miranda Richardson as his wife, Julian Wadham as Montgomery, Danny Webb as Brooke, and James Purefoy as the King. Some people have been sniffy about a scene between King George and Churchill where they discuss Winston’s desire to be on HMS Belfast on D-Day, but that one really worked for me.
Less successful were the heavy-handed allusions to Gallipoli and Churchill’s role in that disaster. Despite them being overdone, screenwriter Alex von Tunzelmann felt the need to also explicitly bring it up towards the end of the film. Also the addition of a fictional secretary who has a fiancée on the boats felt like a much too obvious plot contrivance.
Despite those faults, this is a thought-provoking film with an interesting point of view.
Rating: 8 out of 10