YMMV / Darkest Hour (2017)

• Aluminum Christmas Trees:
  • When Churchill calls FDR and tries to find some way to receive the airplanes they paid for, FDR suggests that they could deliver the planes to just short of the Canadian border and arrange for them to be pulled across by horses. This was how America delivered aircraft to Canada prior to joining the war.
  • That Churchill's contemporaries in the British government saw him as something between a political leper and a dangerous menace seems unthinkable to post-war audiences, but it was quite true. The King is not wrong when saying that Churchill's past record is "a litany of catastrophe", Winston has made a lot of bad calls in his career, and Gallipolli is just the example everybody brings up first.
  • Churchill's first speech to the House of Commons, promising "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" is immediately denounced by Halifax as proof of the new Prime Minister's delusional war-mongering. Truth in Television, as Churchill's speech - now lauded as one of the greatest he ever made - was not well-received in the Commons.
• Awesome Moments: Churchill's "Fight Them on the Beaches" speech, which is delivered in full at the end of the movie.
• Friendly Fandoms: By pure coincidence, another film depicting the same period of history but from the perspective of the soldiers was released in the same year, Dunkirk. Many parts of the two films directly overlap with each other historically, and their completely different view points (the top of the leadership and the soldiers at the bottom) complement each other.
• Harsher in Hindsight: John Hurt was initially cast in the film, but had to drop out due to his cancer treatments. The role he was supposed to play? Neville Chamberlain, who later died of cancer.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • Winston's few scenes with Clemmie show they are still Happily Married after thirty years:
    Clemmie: Are we terribly old?
    Winston: Yes, I'm afraid you are.
    Clemmie: Oh, you beast!
    (both laugh)
  • Churchill visiting the London Underground to hear what his citizens have to say about surrendering to the fascists. They agree with him wholeheartedly, and their passion for freedom moves the man to tears.
  • In addition, King George VI improving his relationship with Churchill, enough to grant him his support in the fight, is extremely inspiring for them both, as it shows the historic beginning of George's development into a caring, loving King that he would be known for during the Blitz.
    Churchill: On certain matters, I-I have very few people with whom I can talk frankly.
    George: Perhaps now we have each other.
    Churchill: And I no longer scare you?
    George: A little. But I can cope.
• Narm Charm: The little girl on the London Underground shouting "Never!" when she's asked if she'll give in to the enemy. It's so corny that it's funny.
• One-Scene Wonder: Clement Attlee only has one significant appearance, during the opening scene, but he uses it to deliver a vicious, bombastic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Neville Chamberlain about his inability to deal with the Nazis. Pity it didn't happen in real life.^note In real life, Attlee did deliver speeches in the House in May 1940 that were extremely critical of Chamberlain's handling of the war, but Attlee (a former army officer and WW1 veteran) was famously laconic and unemotional, not shouty and aggressive like his fictional portrayal.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: Gary Oldman's award sweep playing Churchill, mainly because of a 2001 domestic-abuse allegation from his ex-wife in the age of "Time's Up" and "Me Too".
• Tear Jerker: Winston beginning to grasp the hopelessness of the situation, in particular when he tries to get help from America.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Halifax. As noted on the main film page, he's a politician who made some severe errors in judgement (like thinking Hitler a reasonable fellow), but his wish to avoid war and peril to Britain is genuine and he's more a tragic fool than really villainous.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?:
  • Reportedly, a number of Conservative Party members in Parliament have used the film and its themes as an argument for pressing on with Brexit despite the risks involved, which has earned both them and the film some major blowback. Critics and political figures on both sides have debated how closely and in what ways the film ties in with the ongoing Brexit debate. For example, the film promotes a self-sufficient Britain, when in fact Britain had allies from all over Europe involved in the war, as well as the remains of its vast empire. The irony of using Churchill as a Brexit icon is also very ironic due to him actually being in favour of a united Europe ^note though debates remain about whether or not he would have approved of its current form and the kind of sovereignty it has over its member states, especially as the Pro-Brexit wing of the Conservatives under Boris Johnson use methods much more similar to far-right populism.
  • The movie glorifies Churchill’s most notable legacy, his leadership during the War, depicting him as very much the only man who can save the situation, e.g. when he's shown as personally inventing the idea of evacuating the BEF from Dunkirk, when in fact this had already been anticipated as a possible worst-case scenario. However, in recent years his long history of Imperialism and racism have come much more to light, and his legacy has been tarnished as a result.

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