The Gathering Storm (2002)

Captivating movie !

An Exercise In Nonsense

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I didn't see this film as favorably the second time around as I did back in 2002 when I first watched it. My complaint about this film is that it's time scope is such a short period that it only left me wanting more of the Churchill story (both pre- and post-). I almost had a feeling that the purpose of the film was so that Albert Finney could play Churchill.And, Finney did a very fine job of it. I found his performance convincing, and I'm old enough to still actually remember Churchill when he was alive. I was equally impressed with Vanessa Redgrave. And, in fact, there were no performances here that were anything less than competent.Although the time period covered seemed restrictive, the director managed to flesh out the main characters enough to make the film interesting from that perspective.Do I recommend this film? Yes...but perhaps for only one viewing.

What an incredible time in history to cover in a film. A lot of young people today really don't understand what an incredible gift was given to us by way of Mr. Churchill's vision and determination to defend against such a horrible man like Hitler. Had he not, what a different world we would be living in today.We've heard of Mr.Churchill and the famous speech during World War 2, but to get such an intimate view of the man himself, his family and the wonderful pride he had in England was inspiring. I wish there were more people like him in our world today. He wasn't afraid to speak out when the rest of the country wanted him to play along..and behave.Albert Finney was simply extraordinary in this film, as was Vanessa Redgrave. The whole cast was wonderful.I would highly recommend this film to all.

How many movies do you see about Winston Churchill? Not enough, that's for sure, at least here in the U.S. Albert Finney plays the great British prime minister during the period before World War II and before he was in politics. Churchill was trying to warn his countrymen in the British Parliament of the dangers of Nazi Germany and most people weren't listening. (How ironic, with today's situation involving Islamic terrorists! Are WE listening?)A big part of this film also details the romance between Churchill and his wife "Clementine" (Vanessa Redgrave). It's not some syrupy piece. It shows Churchill's warts, too, meaning his ego and temper. It's nicely filmed, a nice period piece and with just a handful of swear words. I was shocked, though, to hear one f-word, even if it was quoted from poetry. It seemed out of place in this TV film but obviously, television is more liberal in the UK.This is a bit slow but a pleasant film I enjoyed.

This film covers the period 1934 to 1939. From Hitler's rise to power up to the outbreak of WW2, we get an intimate glimpse of Winston Churchill in retirement, most reluctantly. He works hard to make ends meet via his writing, turning out a really prodigious amount of history. My own collection of his works extends beyond three feet of shelf space! He is also working hard in Parliament, trying to keep England from falling apart by means of his speeches. Churchill the public man fights on, Churchill the private man suffers pangs of jealousy when his wife takes a six months vacation. All this goes on against the background of Hitler's steady and relentless march to conquest, while the "peace at any price" government of Stanley Baldwin buries its head in the sand and tries any stratagem to keep Winston from informing the public. Baldwin resigns after Hitler marches into the Rhineland. When he attacks Poland, Chamberlain appoints Winston First Lord of the Admiralty. WINSTON IS BACK! Seven months later, he is Prime Minister.The acting in this dramatised history lesson is excellent, as is the direction. Albert Finney and Vanessa Redgrave might almost BE Winston and Clemmie. The film goes no further than what I have outlined, but we should note that the public's memory is short. After the successful conclusion of WW2 by the allies, the British public turned its back on their wartime leader and rejected Churchill once again. Truly, Weird goes ever as she will!