I’ve always enjoyed Gary Oldman’s craft. I am not a regular movie-goer at all (it’s been over 20 years since I darkened the door of any movie theatre), but this one is on my “must see” list, both for the acting and the partial story of one of the 20th century’s greatest leaders.
I thought it was a great movie (although I agree with Styen about those scenes about the “common people” being the inspiration for Churchill - they were a pretty PC rendering of history, although ultimately they didn’t distract too much from the main subject of the film).
One thing that might have made this a particularly personal film for Oldman is that he himself was blackballed in Hollywood (just as Churchill was marginalized from polite, powerful company) for some five years because the rumor got out that he didn’t approve of some editing the left-wing Disney Studios had done on a film to make it somehow pro-Obama. Nobody could ever find a direct quote, to my knowledge, of his having said this, but all it took to ruin him was the hint of a suspicion that he might not be 100% with the program. He seems to be back on the circuit now, though. Great actor.