Customer Reviews

The Gathering Storm

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THE GATHERING STORM is a compelling look at the lion in wilderness. The lion, of course, is Winston Churchill (Albert Finney) and the wilderness is the political exclusion he endured circa 1938-39. It was during those years that Germany rearmed at an alarming rate; England slept while Adolf Hitler plotted. It was also a time that found Churchill gadflying from opposition to Indian independence to futilely warning England, and the world, about the newly dangerous Nazi Germany.
Such is the political context TGS takes place in, but the movie devotes most of its 90-some minutes to domestic life at Chartwell, Churchill's country estate and the place he amassed and assessed the intelligence on Germany fed to him by a variety of sources, most notably Foreign Office official Ralph Wigram (Linus Roache). Vanessa Redgrave plays Churchill's wife Clemmie, a woman who was as much a match for her famous husband as Redgrave is a match for the superb Finney.
THE GATHERING STORM won't teach you all that much about English politics on the eve of World War II, or even that much about Churchill the politician. As a character study of a complex politician it's simply brilliant, and strongly recommended.

When I first heard that Albert Finney would play Sir Winston Churchill in "The Gathering Storm" I was disappointed and wondered how he could pull it off. Still I watched the movie and the first appearance of Mr. Finney on screen as the venerable and legendary British hero put all of my fears to rest. Winston was alive again. The same can be said for the performance of Vanessa Redgrave as Clementine Churchill.

The movie is filled with facts about Churchill's activities leading up to war with Germany, his intelligence activities and his relationship with his wife and family. The film is a must have for all Churchillophiles.

Rarely does an actor capture the essence of someone so much bigger than life as was Sir Winston Churchill, but Albert Finney achieves the nearly impossible-- he becomes Churchill and manages to dominate practically every frame of this HBO video even against the likes of someone as talented as Vanessa Redgrave, who plays his beloved "Clemmie" Churchill. Ms. Redgrave does rise to the occasion as she, as we say, eats up the furniture when Finney accuses her of being selfish. She roars something to the effect that "don't you dare call me selfish when I have lived with you for 26 years," These two fine actors are joined by a great supporting cast in this beautifully filmed movie. The action covers a brief time in Churchill's life when Hitler is rising to power in Germany. Churchill is having financial difficulties, is plagued by what he calls the "black dog" of depression and cannot convince the current prime minister that Hitler is an enormous threat to the security of England.

Finney here joins other over 50, overweight actors (think Kathy Bates and Jack Nicholson)who bare their all for art. This movie won three Emmys, which were richly deserved.

Okay, so for my money Winston Churchill was the greatest character of the last century. Larger than life and who defied all and sundry when he thought he was right (which was practically always). Could this or any other movie live up to the memory of a legend. The Gathering Storm managed very well, thanks in no short measure to the amazing performance by Albert Finney who not only looked and sounded like the great man but also captured the Bulldog Defiance which served the British people and indeed the world so well during World War II. Vanessa Redgrave must also be acknowledged for her performance as the power behind the cigar. In fact every actor in this movie turns in a stunning performance, including Tom Wilkenson who has long been one of my favorite undiscovered actors (discovered now of course). I understand that a sequel is in the works and I hope this is true. Because this surely is only the first course and what should be a sumptious feast of history, acting, writing and dircetion. Just don't keep us waiting too long.

I watched this movie on HBO and it was such a moving and superbly acted film of Churchill the man that I had to buy it. I suggest buy it now today and watch it over and over as I have done. Not just for the subject matter but the kind of acting that deserves, DEMANDS the higest of praise. Alber Finney is so outstanding that I was sure I was watching Churchill in the flesh. The movie music adds to this truely outstanding film. It's a shame that this classic will not be seen on movie screens, what a winner.

Paul Posey

When I first heard that Albert Finney would play Sir Winston Churchill in "The Gathering Storm" I was disappointed and wondered how he could pull it off. Still I watched the movie and the first appearance of Mr. Finney on screen as the venerable and legendary British hero put all of my fears to rest. Winston was alive again. The same can be said for the performance of Vanessa Redgrave as Clementine Churchill.

The movie is filled with facts about Churchill's activities leading up to war with Germany, his intelligence activities and his relationship with his wife and family. The film is a must have for all Churchillophiles.

Churchill did not create the circumstances that surrounded Europe and Great Britain in the first half of the twentieth century, but he did recognize the dangers that existed and sought to protect the England that he loved from them. In Gathering Storm, Churchill is portayed magnificently by a portly Albert Finney as the egomaniacal, multi-talented genius that he truly was. The movie succeeds in providing telling glimpses into Churchill's private life with his wife Clementine (Vanessa Redgrave), his children, his household staff and friends as well as into his public dealings and persona. I was left wishing for the movie to continue from the point at which it concludes its story.

Winston Churchill was not a man of his times, he was a man FOR his times.

From Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express to Leo in Miller's Crossing, Albert Finney has a similar reputation to Morgan Freeman. Almost any film he turns up in is worth your time. His Churchill is a joy to watch, more than once. You can follow the story and learn about Winston, or you can watch to see Finney's great acting. It doesn't hurt that Vanessa Redgrave's in it too. The scene I enjoy most is Winston's plea to make up with his Clemmie after a spat! Shows Churchill was as soft as a marshmallow when it came to his wife.

It's interesting -- and understandable -- that the other customer reviewers focus at times on how great Churchill was. This movie, although it shows Churchill as a great man and conscious of that greatness, is about Churchill as a human being. We see how much his wife meant to him, and his animals, and his sense of place and animals and painting.

The movie is set before the war, while England slept (to borrow a phrase from JFK), when Churchill was trying to sound the alarm about the growing threat from a rearming Germany. It was fascinating, in that sense, to watch this movie as we await al Qaeda's next horrific move.

Leading up to World War II and Churchill's return to power, the movie's structure is a bit off-putting, in that the coming of war becomes a personal triumph, in dramatic terms, for Churchill. But then we watch with the full knowledge the Churchill's role in the war was one of the great personal and historic triumphs.

Finney is a great Churchill impersonator and calibrates his performance well, capturing the man's crankiness and depression and not just making him a show-off orator. The rest of the cast is spot on and the interiors are rich and lovely. A good historical piece, personal dynamics piece and appealing Anglophile nostalgia piece.

This film, featuring a bravo performance by Albert Finney as Winston Churchill, absolutely captures the essence of the man in all his complexity--his giant ego, his love of country, and his unwavering determination to alert Britain to the rising danger of Nazi Germany. The film does not whitewash Churchill's imperfections, including his sometime inability to work with colleagues, and the fact that living with Churchill was not always a bed of roses for his family. Albert Finney absolutely absorbs the role of Churchill and "becomes" the man. This is a fine film deriving from this superb performance by Finney.

Why only 4 stars? Because the movie skips the period in which I was most interested--most of the year just prior to Hitler's invasion of Poland and the machinations and appeasement by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Perhaps it was felt that British viewers are so familiar with this period that there was no point in including it. However, American viewers and I dare say those from most other countries would have benefited from and enjoyed seeing Churchill triumph over the utter failure of Chamberlain's policy of appeasement as Churchill assumed power in what had to be Britain's darkest days ever. This was perhaps the most dramatic political event ever, and for this film to omit it in what purported to be a film about "The Gathering Storm" was in my opinion unforgivable, and this is why I deprive the film of that fifth star.

Despite this flaw, anyone interested in the life of one of the Twentieth Century's greatest leaders will want to see this superb film.