1934. Winston Churchill appears to be in his twilight years. While he is still a Member of Parliament and a member of the ruling Conservative Party he is not a member of the cabinet and has no power. However, this does not stop him from speaking his mind and making grandiloquent speeches in Parliament. When he learns of Germany's rearmament and Hitler's bigoted social policies he sets out, in Parliament, to warn his colleagues and Britain of the impending danger. The other MPs, used to his tirades, laugh him off. Britain, the spectre of WW1 ever-present, is determined to follow a pacifist course and has not the inclination nor the economic means to engage in an arms race with Germany. Politically, Churchill is isolated.
Superb historic drama - engaging, interesting and edifying. Captures well the lead-up to WW2 and how Britain, and the world, did not see it coming. The political intrigues are very interesting, especially Churchill's information-gathering via a foreign office source, Ralph Wigram. The Ralph Wigram story (a true one - I checked) is fascinating and quite emotional in itself.
Adding another layer to the movie is Churchill's home life. We see his domestic issues, the relationship with his wife, Clementine, and children. This makes for highly engaging watching as we don't just see Churchill the politician but also Churchill the person, the family man.
Fantastic performance by Albert Finney as Winston Churchill. He captures Churchill's traits perfectly, down to his voice. Vanessa Redgrave is great as Clementine Churchill. Some big names in the supporting cast, some of whom weren't famous at the time: Ronnie Barker, Jim Broadbent, Derek Jacobi, Tom Wilkinson, Linus Roache, Lena Headey and Tom Hiddleston (5 years before he made his cinematic debut).
Seven years after The Gathering Storm, a sequel was made, covering Churchill's WW2 years. This was Into The Storm, and starred Brendan Gleeson as Churchill and Janet McTeer as Clementine. Despite the discontinuity in actors, Into The Storm was equally superb and involved a brilliant performance from Brendan Gleeson. Seems like playing Churchill brings out the best in actors (thinking too of Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour)...
Superb historic drama - engaging, interesting and edifying. Captures well the lead-up to WW2 and how Britain, and the world, did not see it coming. The political intrigues are very interesting, especially Churchill's information-gathering via a foreign office source, Ralph Wigram. The Ralph Wigram story (a true one - I checked) is fascinating and quite emotional in itself.
Adding another layer to the movie is Churchill's home life. We see his domestic issues, the relationship with his wife, Clementine, and children. This makes for highly engaging watching as we don't just see Churchill the politician but also Churchill the person, the family man.
Fantastic performance by Albert Finney as Winston Churchill. He captures Churchill's traits perfectly, down to his voice. Vanessa Redgrave is great as Clementine Churchill. Some big names in the supporting cast, some of whom weren't famous at the time: Ronnie Barker, Jim Broadbent, Derek Jacobi, Tom Wilkinson, Linus Roache, Lena Headey and Tom Hiddleston (5 years before he made his cinematic debut).
Seven years after The Gathering Storm, a sequel was made, covering Churchill's WW2 years. This was Into The Storm, and starred Brendan Gleeson as Churchill and Janet McTeer as Clementine. Despite the discontinuity in actors, Into The Storm was equally superb and involved a brilliant performance from Brendan Gleeson. Seems like playing Churchill brings out the best in actors (thinking too of Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour)...