The Gathering Storm
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Movie Reviews of The Gathering Storm
Movie Review: Sir Winston unemployed
Summary: 4 Stars
The years before Churchill became the leader of Britain through the WWII, were interesting for an observer. Practically ostracized by political class we see how a man can survive without doing what he liked the most: to command.
Churchill here is displayed in the most ordinary, plain and because of that touching way I have ever seen. His frustration for being far from power makes him a bitter man and unbereable to live with. Albert Finney plays a wonderful Churchill. And if the real one was not like Finney, he should have been.
While Baldwin was sure that anything would be better to avoid another war, Churchill was aware of the threating that Europe was facing. But his vision does not make him the hero of the film. Quite the contrary here he is shown as a man avid of power, who uses anything to regain it again. Here is Ralph Wigram (played by Linus Roache) who is the real hero of the film.
But apart from the political point of view there is a nice love story between Churchill and his wife lady Clementine. And no one like Vanessa Redgrave to play her. Her distinction, manners and warmth make that this couple will be perfectly real. We see a human Churchill, and I think is very interesting to show how this man, hunger for power had not real one in his own family. Too focused in politics is his wife who must deal with the boring problems of everydays life.
It is a well made film. Perfectly settled and with great performances.
Movie Review: ENGROSSING & HUMANE BIOPIC OF A LARGER-THAN-LIFE POLITICIAN
Summary: 4 Stars
Despite ending eight months prior to the natural climax of Churchill's prime ministership, Gathering Storm makes for an engrossing and informative look at the years leading up to his key role in WWII.
Not merely a commentary of the Churchill you typically know of, mind you, but a warts-and-all portrait of his personal life including his loving but sometimes strained marriage, his financial troubles, alcoholism, ennui, amateur painting, and most interestingly, his habit of absent-mindedly losing himself in rehearsing speeches while in the bathtub.
Of course we do get a good perspective of his political trajectory as well, strewn with ramblings on Germany and India. While he seemed a bit ahead of the curve on Germany, he was a tad out of depth on India (e.g., "I wish to save Indians from Mr. Gandhi").
The narrative seems to be deliberately relaxed, perhaps in order to be adequately informative in nature, but its thoughtfulness more than makes up for it. A very provocative undercurrent being that grudges are borne at national levels as well.
People who're not keen on the time bracket of possibly the most destructive war in the history may find all of it a bit tedious, but for diehard fans of diplomacy or wars this is a truly gripping film.
Movie Review: a personal portrait
Summary: 4 Stars
It's interesting -- and understandable -- that the other customer reviewers focus at times on how great Churchill was. This movie, although it shows Churchill as a great man and conscious of that greatness, is about Churchill as a human being. We see how much his wife meant to him, and his animals, and his sense of place and animals and painting.The movie is set before the war, while England slept (to borrow a phrase from JFK), when Churchill was trying to sound the alarm about the growing threat from a rearming Germany. It was fascinating, in that sense, to watch this movie as we await al Qaeda's next horrific move.
Leading up to World War II and Churchill's return to power, the movie's structure is a bit off-putting, in that the coming of war becomes a personal triumph, in dramatic terms, for Churchill. But then we watch with the full knowledge the Churchill's role in the war was one of the great personal and historic triumphs.
Finney is a great Churchill impersonator and calibrates his performance well, capturing the man's crankiness and depression and not just making him a show-off orator. The rest of the cast is spot on and the interiors are rich and lovely. A good historical piece, personal dynamics piece and appealing Anglophile nostalgia piece.
Movie Review: Fair & Balanced Look At Churchill
Summary: 4 Stars
How many movies do you see about Winston Churchill? Not enough, that's for sure, at least here in the U.S.
Albert Finney plays the great British prime minister during the period before World War II and before he was in politics. Churchill was trying to warn his countrymen in the British Parliament of the dangers of Nazi Germany and most people weren't listening. (How ironic, with today's situation involving Islamic terrorists!)
A big part of this film also details the romance between Churchill and his wife "Clementine" (Vanessa Redgrave). It's not some syrupy piece. It shows Churchill's warts, too, meaning his ego and temper.
It's nicely filmed, a nice period piece and with just a handful of swear words. I was shocked, though, to hear one f-word, even if it was quoted from poetry. It seemed out of place in this TV film.
This is a bit slow but a pleasant film I enjoyed and recommend.
Movie Review: Showing a different side of Big Winnie
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're like me, you remember Winston Churchill for his glory days: bellowing brilliant patriotic speeches that could revive flagging British spirit even in the darkest days of the war. This movie show a much different side of Winston.
Although I knew that Winston smoked and drank a tad to excess (and his detractors will always bring this up, as though this contradicted his brilliance as a prime minister) what I didn't know was how devoted he was to his wife. Though I knew how much he loved his country, I didn't know about how much ridicule and shame he was subject to in the early days of Germany's rise, when he and he alone in the British Government knew of the gathering storm that was the German war machine. This superbly acted TV movie showed me many things I did not know about the great man, and I heartily reccomend giving "The Gathering Storm" a look if it's on TV or you feel like purchasing it. 8/10