Gathering Storm (DVD)

The Gathering Storm charts the course of events from Winston Churchill's Wilderness Years during Baldwin's National Government in the mid-to-late 1930s, until his return to office as First Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of the Second World War.

==== PLOT SUMMARY ====

Winston Churchill has become a backbencher, increasingly ridiculed as yesterday's man, a man of no-judgement and a war-monger. It is the mid-1930s, ...
...rising threat from Hitler's Germany. Churchill desperately seeks solace during his Black Dog moods at Chartwell, writing prolifically to pay the bills, while casting around for ways to draw the public's attention to the very real danger he senses.

This film charts Churchill's struggles through these dark times, where he gets assistance from well-placed people inside the civil service in Whitehall. It shows how Ralph Wigram (a foreign ... more

The Gathering Storm charts the course of events from Winston Churchill's Wilderness Years during Baldwin's National Government in the mid-to-late 1930s, until his return to office as First Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of the Second World War.

= PLOT SUMMARY

=

Winston Churchill has become a backbencher, increasingly ridiculed as yesterday's man, a man of no-judgement and a war-monger. It is the mid-1930s, and no-one seems to have any stomach to confront the rising threat from Hitler's Germany. Churchill desperately seeks solace during his Black Dog moods at Chartwell, writing prolifically to pay the bills, while casting around for ways to draw the public's attention to the very real danger he senses.

This film charts Churchill's struggles through these dark times, where he gets assistance from well-placed people inside the civil service in Whitehall. It shows how Ralph Wigram (a foreign office official) struggles with his conscience and worries about the security of his family (including a severely handicapped son), and plays a key role in keeping Churchill informed.

Above all, the film shows the extraordinary depth of the relationship between Churchill and his wife Clemmie, and how much he relied on her to keep him going, while never quite losing his own sense of his inevitable and glorious destiny to save and protect the British Empire.

The film goes up to the declaration of the Second World War, and ends with Churchill's return to government as First Lord of the Admiralty.

= CAST

=

Albert Finney plays Winston Churchill. I must confess to not being a huge Finney fan, primarily due to the execrable Murder on the Orient Express. However, I thought he was stunning in Amazing Grace, and here he was even better. It can't be easy to play such a well-known figure as Churchill, without succumbing to caricature or plain impersonation. Instead, Finney is sufficient close vocally and physically to the commonly held image of Churchill that you can concentrate on the story, without worrying about its accuracy. Finney gives the role total conviction, and captures the self-pity of the 'Black Dog' moods while conveying Churchill's complete self-belief. He captures the grandeur of the parliamentary oratory, the selfishness of Churchill's demands on others and even some of the eccentricities, such as the opening scene when we see him walking naked to have his morning pee while composing a speech on India. In short, Finney is believable, engrossing and a towering presence.

Vanessa Redgrave plays Clemmie Churchill and almost manages to steal the show from Finney. She brings light and steel to the relationship, but is more than a mere cipher, as is shown when she throws a tureen of sprouts at Finney in rage. The depth of their relationship which comes across is a tribute to the two protagonists, and Churchill's speech in the car right at the end just before he enters the Admiralty was a real tear-jerker for me.

Linus Roache - I had never heard of Linus Roache before, but his portrayal of Ralph Wigram does justice to an often-overlooked character. Roache captures the wrestling of conscience exquisitely. There is a beautiful scene in the interval of the opera where his superior tries to warn him he has been found out, without actually mentioning it, is wonderfully judged.

The supporting cast is full of big names of British theatre, and it would almost be invidious to single out any of them, but I shall do so anyway. Tom Wilkinson, as Wigram's superior, gives a masterful display of the smooth mandarin, and the scene where he encourages Wigram to help, while seemingly warning him against it was pure Yes, Minister.

Derek Jacobi plays Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, and reminded me more than a little of Tony Blair, not least physically. Jim Broadbent, Celia Imrie, Tom Huddleston and Hugh Bonneville all give fine cameo performances, but of all the minor parts, that of Inches the Butler was the most memorable. Ronnie Barker had been in retirement for 14 years, before he reappeared on film for this. The first time we see him drinking Churchill's scotch is a reminder of what a supreme comic actor he was, but his performance adds to the picture of Churchill's household and is not merely a comic sideshow. Also providing wry comic interludes are the scenes with the maid Peggy, played by Lyndsey Marshal.

= LOOK AND FEEL OF THE FILM

=

The feel of the film is authentic without being in your face at demonstrating its attention to the minutest detail. I liked the opening titles passage with the car driving through the woods, which was very atmospheric and which took us into Churchill's connection with the Duke of Marlborough in a simple and understated way. This cinematographic style set the tone for the whole film, in my view.

Chartwell was used as the location wherever possible, but for those scenes where Chartwell has now been sanitised by the National Trust, alternative venues were found. The same is true for the London scenes, with Somerset House standing in the Foreign Office.

= DVD EXTRAS

=

There are very few extras on the DVD, only the director's commentary. I have listened to most of this, although I didn't find it particularly illuminating. There are a couple of amusing bits, for instance when he talks about the disparity with heights between a couple of the actors on the stairs, which the director had not appreciated in advance and the camera tricks necessary to compensate. I was also interested in the view the director had of Churchill as little more than a rabble-rousing demagogue, until he came to make the film.

The only other extra was a selection of potted biographies of some of the actors, the director and the screenplay writer.

= OVERALL

=

I found this a wonderful film, one that I would happily watch again. The film rings true historically, although you don't get the feeling that the director has made accuracy a fetish. But it is the strength of the acting, ably supported by a wonderful, true narrative that raises this film above the ordinary. Finney and Redgrave are simply fantastic in their own right, but even more so together. I heartily recommend it to anyone.

= CAST AND OTHER FACTS

=

Albert Finney - Winston Churchill
Vanessa Redgrave - Clemmie Churchill
Jim Broadbent - Desmond Morton
Linus Roache - Ralph Wigram
Lena Headey - Ava Wigram
Derek Jacobi - Stanley Baldwin
Ronnie Barker - David Inches
Tom Wilkinson - Sir Robert Vansittart
Celia Imrie - Violet Pearman
Hugh Bonneville - Ivo Pettifer
Tom Hiddleston - Randolph Churchill

Director - Richard Loncraine
Writers - Larry Ramin, Hugh Whitemore

Certificate 12
It is available from amazon.co.uk for £5.97 

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