I see a little too much of Albert Finney's Churchill in HBO's "The Gathering Storm"

Even though I'm a history teacher, there are some big blind spots in my knowledge of history because 1) I've only been a history teacher for two years now, and 2) I've had a lot of incompetent teachers myself. One of those blind spots is Winston Churchill, Britain's Prime Minister during World War II. After coming across the HBO movie "The Gathering Storm" several times, I finally decided to check it out for myself.

The HBO film takes its title from Churchill's own history of World War II, "The Gathering Storm." That was written in 1948; the movie begins more than a decade earlier in 1936, as Churchill is fighting for his political life in Parliament. He comes across information about German rearmament, and realizes that Hitler has his sights set on more than just "Lebensraum"--he wants to conquer Europe.

The movie has a very narrow focus, on Churchill's role in warning Britain and Europe about Germany's ambition, and the role of his own wife, family, and staff in helping him maintain a mental balance that will allow him to be the leader he was destined to become.

Albert Finney plays Churchill to the hilt, sometimes becoming so huffy and phlegmatic that he's hard to understand; he embodies the arrogance and the stalwart leadership I understand were part of his personality, but also the surprising fragility of a man who says insanity is a "black dog" that stalks him. He keeps the "dog" at bay by painting and spending time working and playing with his family...he's a fine actor, and was born to play this part. Evidently Churchill spent a lot of time in the bathtub, so I've seen a lot more of Albert Finney than I ever wanted to see...but it adds humanity and life to the character, and as bloated as he is, it's a somewhat endearing aspect of the character as painted here.

Vanessa Redgrave plays the iron-willed wife of Winston, Clementine. Clemmy is every bit as strong as Winston, and stands up to him on several occasions; eventually taking an extended voyage away from him to help keep their marriage together. I've loved Redgrave for decades, and she's only getting better with time.

Jim Broadbent, Linus Roache, and Derek Jacobi all have supporting roles, and prove the adage that "there are no small roles, only small actors" true...each is wonderful in their smallish parts, and Roache in particular broke my heart as the conflicted civil servant who's been leaking secrets to Churchill.

They don't paint Churchill as an unblemished hero--one of my favorite things about him is his unabashed arrogance. The best exchange in the movie comes between Winston and his head butler, Mr. Inches:

CHURCHILL : You are very rude to me!

MR. INCHES: You are very rude to me, sir!

CHURCHILL : Yes, but I am a Great Man!

This is a wonderful, short movie with a script better than most "big screen" films, and a cast and story worth your time to see. It's a great background for a study of World War II, and an introduction to one of the man responsible for winning that horrible conflict. If you're interested in World War II, or in Winston Churchill himself, check out "The Gathering Storm."