The Gathering Storm
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Movie Reviews of The Gathering Storm
Movie Review: The Gathering Storm
Summary: 5 Stars
An enjoyable of overview of events leading to the re birth of Winston Churchill...played superbly by "a man's date with destiny"........Movie Review: My Favorite DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
Marvelous acting and accurate depiction of one of histories great men, Winston Churchill.
Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!!
Movie Review: Excellence in every way.
Summary: 5 Stars
From the acting to the costuming, to the script and editing, this is a masterpiece.Movie Review: Remarkable!
Summary: 4 Stars
Summary:The movie is based upon the life of Winston Churchill (Albert Finney). It begins just as information about the German re-armament is beginning to seep into British political life. Winston is an aging statesman that is losing his political clout. When his insights into the impending German military conquest are reinforced by hard data given to him secretly by Ralph Wigram (Linus Roache), Winston's perspective takes parliament by storm, resulting in the resignation of the Prime Minister and the eventual appointment of Winston as Prime Minister.
However, the primary story is only half of what makes this movie superb. The other half is the remarkable portrayal of the relationship between Winston and his wife, Clemmie (Vanessa Redgrave). Perhaps what really drives the relationship in the movie is when Clemmie, who has sacrificed so much of her life and been so selfless for so many years in support of her husband's career, finally decides to take a trip alone, leaving Winston without the support he has counted on for so many years.
My Comments:
This movie is remarkably well-done. I didn't even recognize Albert Finney (from Erin Brockovich); I couldn't place him and was stunned when I saw his name in the credits. I felt kind of foolish afterward. In retrospect it's pretty obvious, but I sure had a difficult time of it he was so convincing. All of the actors did a superb job; I can't even begin to complain about any of the portrayals.
As noted above, the love story is very touching. What makes it even more touching is that Winston Churchill is not idealized or romanticized in anyway - he had a very strong personality and likely was very difficult to live with. However, if this movie is even a remotely accurate portrayal of the relationship he had with his wife, he loved two things very deeply (other than himself of course), his wife and his country, and both of these loves are very explicitly conveyed in the movie, but in a convincing way. (I do wonder if 'Pug' was a real petname for him...)
In the end you find yourself falling in love with Winston Churchill, despite his arrogance and his overbearing personality; he believed in something and was willing to fight tenaciously for it. When the movie ends you feel like you've been in the presence of a great man. Now, I'm not one to revere people; but occasionally you do meet people that are just, well, amazing. I've only met one other person that I could compare to Winston Churchill, but you wouldn't know him so I won't get into it. Anyway, I would have followed Mr. Churchill and I don't throw my allegiances around lightly.
Overall, the movie is both touching and powerful. It introduces you to both the husband and statesman of Winston Churchill, as well as his backside (you get to see Albert Finney's butt in the very opening scene, not that that should be an attraction, 'butt' anyway...). The movie isn't showy; it's very straightforward, has a very specific agenda, and sticks with its main character. It is very well done and teaches history at the same time. I would highly recommend it.
Movie Review: Catching the first zephyrs of war out of the doldrums
Summary: 4 Stars
It's part of the Churchill legend that, after having served in high government posts in the first third of the 20th century, Winston was a has-been by the mid-1930s, ridiculed and avoided by fellow members of Parliament - caught in the political doldrums. THE GATHERING STORM depicts the period from 1934 to 1939. It's no exaggeration to say that Churchill owes the resurgence of his political career to Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich.Albert Finney was an inspired choice in the title roll. We watch as Winston, despondent over his fall from influence, becomes the lone voice in the wilderness speaking out against the government's policy of appeasement of Nazi Germany. This is all the more remarkable because it was Churchill's own party, the Conservatives, which held power under Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (Derek Jacobi), who, as pointedly put by Winston, was but an "epileptic corpse". However, this film does not slavishly idolize. We see Churchill for what he also was: inept at money handling, domineering, occasionally incredibly selfish, and perhaps too envious of the military accomplishments of his ancestor, the 1st Duke of Marlborough. And, as comic relief, the viewer is led to believe that Winston composed and rehearsed his greatest speeches in the loo, especially while in the bathtub.
THE GATHERING STORM is also a tribute to Clementine Churchill (Vanessa Redgrave), who scores major points for staying married to a difficult man. In one instance, after twenty-some years of selfless devotion to her marriage and family, Clementine defies her husband's self-centeredness and goes off on a Pacific jolly to chase Komodo Dragons, a large lizard. You go, girl!
This isn't a riveting drama by any means, but it's an extremely competent portrayal of the man and his times. For one already acquainted with Churchill's career, it offers nothing new. For one who knows nothing of Churchill or that period of Britain's history between the wars, it's perhaps a must-see. Much of it was filmed at Churchill's home of the time, Chartwell, now a National Trust property.
The very best thing about Finney's portrayal is his voice. I could close my eyes and easily imagine that it was Winston himself speaking. However, this aspect of the production also leads to its greatest failing, which is that not enough of Churchill's great oratory was heard. As I watched the ending credits roll, I thought how they needed a voice-over of Winston's greatest speech - the one that even now brings chills to me (a non-Brit), and which includes:
"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour."