Lee Eisenberg Without a doubt, Winston Churchill's reputation got solidified by leading the United Kingdom through World War II and bringing about its greatest victory. Thaddeus O'Sullivan's "Into the Storm" focuses on Churchill's period as prime minister. As the PM, Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter movies) puts his all into the role, as does Janet McTeer as his wife Clementine.Two scenes in particular stood out to me. One is when Churchill is meeting Roosevelt in the White House and has an awkward moment, forcing the PM to say "As you can see, I have nothing to conceal." A little instance of comic relief. The next is when the two of them have a summit with Stalin in Tehran's Soviet embassy. Churchill toasts the proletarians and Stalin toasts the Tories. This is undeniable evidence of the saying that politics makes strange bedfellows (in this case, the communist state and the western imperial powers saw a common enemy in Nazi Germany). I guess that it indirectly predicted Russia's current partnership with Iran.Anyway, it's a good movie. While the bulk of the credit should go to Gleeson - who won a well deserved Emmy for his performance - I'd say that McTeer deserves her fair share. She's a criminally underrated actress. Watch "Songcatcher" and "Albert Nobbs" and see if you disagree.I hope to see "The Gathering Storm" eventually.

Jazzist-H-Crisp This film explores an intriguing question: why did the people of Britain vote Labour in 1945, rejecting the man who had been their champion throughout the War? That man, Winston Churchill, is the central figure of the film and we are presented with many sides of his character and with flashbacks to his work as Prime Minister from the outbreak of war in 1939.I was very impressed by this film. Brendan Gleeson is excellent as Churchill, as is Janet McTear as his wife, Clemmie. The whole film is very well cast and the settings and period detail are used to great effect. The script by Hugh Whitmore is very good, ranging from the quietly intimate (presenting the Churchills' marriage), to the humorous, to the grand rhetoric of his epic wartime speeches. Thaddeus O'Sullivan directs the film with great skill, at times moving the story forward with dramatic urgency, and at others bringing out the emotion of a scene skilfully and effectively. Even familiar speeches of Churchill's, which suffer from over-familiarity, come across with real power.Britain was lucky to have had Churchill in its hour of need. He faced up to what the Nazis and the Fascists were doing and could see where appeasement policies would end up. History proved him right. After the fall of France, when Britain faced the might of Hitler's Reich alone, the rhetoric of Churchill inspired the people and urged them to fight on, despite every set-back. It would have been so easy to give in and settle for whatever terms Hitler would have offered. We owe a huge debt to Churchill for his determination and his tenacity. It is to the credit of this film that we feel warmth and sympathy for the man and gratitude for the leader.I am glad to see that this film has won many awards. It certainly deserves them.

Dunroman Somehow the Albert Finney film got deeper into the man, the image of Finney going for a pee was just so Churchill - with a complete lack of concern about anything else when he had an idea in his head (particularly a speech in the forming), including his own nudity. Finney also looked more physically like Churchill.Other reviewers have commented on the licence with history taken and this is a good point, but given that this man so centred his success on the spoken word, really there should have been greater use of his speeches to parliament or the repeats he subsequently made on the BBC. These speeches really were "tour-de-force" and the amount of effort that went into just one speech was truly incredible - perhaps a week or two of solid work - particularly his address to Congress.One element that pleased me particularly was the reporting of the ==Gestapo speech==. This caused real controversy at the time, and maybe contributed to his defeat in 1945.Perhaps the film makers used this speech as a device to highlight an apparently more unreasonable part of his nature (Churchill is still hated by some sections of the Left for his actions as Chancellor before and during the General Strike). So while it is valuable to show that he was a complex character, it reflected for me more other people's opinion of him rather than his real character as a man.Indeed, by contrast, some on the Right in Britain today see a real degree of prescience in what he said, in that the police forces which were widely supported by the middle classes in the 80s and 90s have, in the naughties (and particularly post 9/11) lost that support through just such heavy-handed support for a socialist government, chasing tractor production figures - just as Churchill envisaged - "no longer civil and no longer servants".Certainly in comparison with his other speeches the Gestapo speech was of minor importance and its impact in 1945 was probably very small (he was going to lose anyway) the film would have done better to concentrate on his other speeches - perhaps the Iron Curtain speech. Indeed there would have been better ways to show that in 45 he was out of touch with a nation tired of warIn all this, the Gleeson portrayal is still well worth watching and sheds light on the ability of a single man to shape history.BTW for those interested in learning more about this flawed but truly great man, you could do worse than to read Roy Jenkin's biography of Churchill - perhaps the best - and very readable.

Jay Harris Yes Brendan Gleeson & Janet McTeer are very good as Winston & Clementine Churchill.I just do not see why this HBO film got so many award nominations. I am wondering is this the same Winston that inspired us during World War 2. I was young teen ager then, I do not think the man I remember had such a low esteem & low opinion of himself. thinking back the Churchill I remember was a vibrant dominant man & when he spoke we ALL paid attention.I did not get the same impression watching this movie.For those who do not know about this period in history, the movie will be interesting.I am doubtful on the historical accuracy. It is well acted & made, for a HBO movie.Ratings: *** (out of 4) 83 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)