STACK June 2017 Issue 152

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16 JUNE 2017
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A n intimate character study, Churchill
observes its larger than life subject
during a period of crisis – the
countdown to the D-Day landings on June 6,
1944. We’ve seen the ill-fated beach landing at
Normandy in numerous war movies, but this
is really the first time a film has properly gone
behind-the-scenes to explore
the politics of the campaign,
the monumental decisions
that must be made, and the
emotional impact upon those
who make them.
“When I read the script
it felt interesting and fresh
to me, a different take on
the usual biopic,” director
Jonathan Teplitzky tells
STACK . “I like biopics that
get under the skin of the
character and explore a little
more than just what they
achieved. What interested me was
this script took on the mantle of
saying this great man had basically
become increasingly isolated as the
war raged on and the Americans
were basically running it from
the Allied point of view. It
asks this big question of how Churchill dealt
with that and finding what his relevant place
was to make not only a contribution, but to
maintain his status as wartime prime minister
and leader.”
Rather than simply repeat what’s in the
history books, Teplitzky wanted to create a
very intimate and personal
portrait of a man who history
regards in an iconic and
heroic way, and credits his
leading actor, Brian Cox, with
giving the audience access to
this human element.
“It’s one thing to sit back
and observe events, but
it’s another to be taken on
a journey by an actor who
gives the audience the
sense of what it felt like
– both psychologically and
emotionally – to be Churchill
and living through the historical and
political events, but also the personal
struggles of the time.
“He prepared so intimately and
deeply. That’s reflected by not
only the performance
that he gives, but
the extraordinary talent and experience that
went into crafting that performance in a very
multi-layered way. It’s a great role that’s been
waiting for Brian.”
As well as revealing Churchill’s personal
struggle with angst and depression, the film
highlights his guilt over the Gallipoli landings
– an element the director was keen to explore
further.
“The film focuses primarily on Gallipoli and
a number of beach landings he was involved
with – Dunkirk being another one – where
there was a massive loss of life. And his
sense of that and his guilt of that, of being
responsible for it, I think haunted him through
his later years. In many ways, the film’s energy
comes from him not wanting to repeat that
mistake.
“It was the conscience on Churchill’s
shoulder,” he continues. “The consequences
and his guilt, his uncertainty and vulnerability
that stemmed from what happened in
Gallipoli, and his role in it. Never wanting to be
responsible for that level of loss again.
“I’ve always looked at Churchill as the iconic
figure he became, but also as somebody
who’s indelibly connected to the failure at
Gallipoli, particularly on a human level. It was
an interesting film to make, for me as an
Australian.”
Winston Churchill is enjoying something
of a renaissance on screen of late, with Joe
Wright’s biopic The Darkest Hour – starring
Gary Oldman as Churchill – to follow later
in the year. Teplitzky sees this as both a
coincidence and a reflection of the times we’re
living in.
“When you live in times of uncertainty,
people want to feel secure and they want
to be led well,” he offers, “so there’s a great
propensity to look back to the great leaders
of the past – often with rose-tinted glasses
because you remember the great achievements
of strong leadership. Churchill falls into the
role very easily, but the danger of that is, if
you’re going to look back and you’re going to
remember him as a great leader, you also have
to look at the failings and the vulnerability. And
ultimately all the components that made the
man who was Winston Churchill.”
Australian director Jonathan Teplitzky’sWorldWar II drama
offers an intensely personal insight into Britain’s iconic
prime minister,Winston Churchill. Words Scott Hocking
I like biopics that
get under the skin
of the character
and explore a little
more than just
what they achieved
Churchill is in cinemas on June 8