Darkest Hour

May 1940. With the Nazis beating the British Army back to the French shores and invasion imminent, Neville Chamberlain resigns as Prime Minister over calls for his ouster and accusations of appeasing Hitler. In his place steps the unlikely, unpopular in his own party, larger than life Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) who must not only lead an improbable evacuation at Dunkirk but convince the nation that the favored capitulation to Germany is the absolute wrong move. Darkest Hours loses steam and much of its impressively sustained intensity towards the finale (including an ill-advised scene of Churchill riding the Underground and gaining affirmation from the people before his big “On the Beaches” speech) but is extremely well crafted throughout by Joe Wright and Oldman, under half a ton of makeup, creates a full-bodied character and brings a full life force to the prime minister. The supporting class is excellent including Ben Mendelsohn as a disbelieving King George VI, Stephen Dillane as his cunning rival Viscount Halifax, and Kristin Scott Thomas as his loyal, secondary wife.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Pride & Prejudice

Mrs. Bennett (Brenda Blethyn) is keen to marry off her five daughters before their estate transfers to a relative upon the death of Mr. Bennett (Donald Sutherland). Upon hearing the news of the arrival of a wealthy landowner to a neighboring property, Mrs. Bennett sends daughters Jane (Rosamund Pike) and the fiercely independent Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) to the welcoming ball in order to woo the eligible bachelor. While Jane seems to prove successful, Elizabeth finds herself being simultaneously attracted and repulsed by Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) the brooding, arrogant, and mysterious best friend of the host. Now, as the two encounter each other more and more in polite society and their mutual attraction becomes undeniable, they must each attempt to overcome their vanity and preconceptions. Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice is an involving and wry telling of the oft-filmed Jane Austin novel which boasts gorgeous cinematography that perfectly captures Knightley's luminescent beauty who, in turn, is astounding in her performance. Sutherland and Pike also shine in supporting roles.
*** 1/2 out of ****

Atonement

On a hot summer afternoon on an English country manor in the quiet days before World War II, a precocious girl (Saoirse Ronan followed by Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave during later stages of the film) misinterprets incidents taking place between her older sister (Keira Knightley at her most radiant) and the family's gardener (James McAvoy) and, through one callous mistake, forever alters the course of all three of their lives. Atonement is a sumptuously mounted film from Joe Wright who, with screenwriter Christopher Hampton, takes Ian McEwan's remarkable and impeccably structured book and translates it to the screen with as much adeptness and carrying as much, if not more, emotional weight. From the idyllic early passages at the country home, to the famous five minute tracking shot at the beach at Dunkirk, to the gut wrenching final revelation (which should serve as an instructional for twist happy movie makers), Atonement is a triumph on every level.

Anna Karenina

Set in tsarist Russia, Tolstoy's tragic heroine's (Keira Knightley) love affair with a dashing count (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is seen as played out largely upon a stage, which is coupled with the seldom filmed courtship of her sister-in-law (Alicia Vikander) to a meager landowner (Domhnall Gleeson). Joe Wright's adaptation of the often filmed classic is somewhat of a disappointment, considering what he did with the literary treatments of "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonement", both of which feature Knightley. Here, with famed screen and playwright Tom Stoppard, he makes the dastardly decision of treating the sprawling work as a stage play, and severely limits not only the story, but his own visual talents. That being said, there are many sumptuous passages and Knightley delivers a fine performance. However, you are never quite sure what draws her to the count, who is unremarkably played by Taylor-Johnson). Jude Law does a much better job of investing subtle traces of humanity in a mostly cold bureaucrat, allowing you to see what Anna must have when they first married. Also, the Gleeson storyline adds little but length to the film, and it becomes evident why it had been omitted in so many other adaptations. 

Hanna

A young girl (Saoirse Ronan) was raised and spent her entire live somewhere in the forested European wilderness, where she has been trained by her assassin father (Eric Bana) to be just as intelligent and deadly as he is. When she reaches an appropriate age he gives her the option to experience live in the real world which she unblinkingly takes. As he flees, being a wanted man, she is taken in by operatives where she is interrogated by a team directed by her father's handler, a cold and ruthless woman (Cate Blanchett) who holds a secret to the young girl's past. After dispensing of the men at the holding facility, she escapes and makes her way across Europe to meet her father, while she will be chased by nasty Euro baddies and meet a friend while learning about day-to-day living. Hanna is a quality action film from director Joe Wright who has done some nice work before in period pieces Pride and Prejudice as well as Atonement, which also featured Ronan. Here his handling of action sequences is crisp and clear, where all the scenes are apparent and make sense. This cannot be said of many action sequences where often we must wait until a gun battle has ceased until we can decipher who survived it. Maybe the secret is hiring good directors to make action movies, while casting off the current ones? Saoirse Ronan, who is only 17, has quickly developed into a fine actress and gives credibility here to a high concept plot. Other than that, there's not much to say about the acting. Eric Bana is an actor I neither like nor dislike, and here he is just on screen once again bringing his bland presence to the film. Cate Blanchett, I'm a little shocked to say, does not really pull off her role as the callous villain. Her silly accent and dare I say poor acting choices result in a caricature. Still, Hanna is more than sufficient entertainment thanks to its action sequences and its young heroine.