The gaunt Oldman dons a fat suit and plenty of prosthetic makeup, painstakingly designed by makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), to portray the gruff, growling Churchill. Oldman finds the humor, the indomitable fighting spirit, in the man lionized as the embodiment of English resilience during World War II.
The script by Anthony McCarten (“The Theory of Everything”) concentrates on a few short weeks in 1940, starting with Churchill’s advancement to prime minister on May 10, 1940. He’s the Tories’ reluctant choice to replace the ineffectual Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup).