Winston Churchill is basically the "Hamlet" of historical roles. Every few years, a heavyweight actor puts on the prosthetics, grabs a cigar, and tries to capture that specific, gravelly rumble. We’ve seen Gary Oldman do it with an Oscar-winning intensity. We’ve seen John Lithgow bring a towering, fragile height to the role in The Crown. But if you ask the real history buffs or the folks who caught HBO's 2009 gem, they'll tell you the definitive version belongs to a Dubliner.
Into the Storm Brendan Gleeson is the combination you didn't know you needed until you saw it.
Gleeson didn't just play the Prime Minister; he inhabited the contradictions. It's one thing to give a speech about fighting on the beaches. It's another thing entirely to show the man "blubbing"—as Gleeson called it—while inspecting troops or getting tetchy over a misplaced bottle of paint.
What Actually Happens in Into the Storm?
Let's get the timeline straight because the movie jumps around a bit. Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, the film acts as a sequel to 2002’s The Gathering Storm (where Albert Finney played the role).
The framing device is surprisingly somber. It’s 1945. The war in Europe is over. Churchill is on holiday in France with his wife, Clemmie (played by the brilliant Janet McTeer), waiting for the election results. He’s restless. He’s basically a man whose entire purpose—the war—has vanished, and now he’s facing the possibility that the British public is ready to move on without him.
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Through flashbacks, we see the meat of his wartime leadership:
- The chaotic days of 1940 when he took over from Neville Chamberlain.
- His desperate attempts to woo Franklin D. Roosevelt (Len Cariou) into the conflict.
- The mounting tension at home as the stress of the war threatens to crack his marriage.
Honestly, it’s a tight 100 minutes. Some critics at the time complained it was too short—how do you fit Dunkirk, the Blitz, and D-Day into the length of a football match? You don't. You focus on the man in the room. You focus on the "odd pattern of emphasis" in his voice that Gleeson worked on for months with voice coach Joan Washington.
The Brendan Gleeson Transformation
Gleeson is a big guy, but Churchill had a very specific "stooped shuffling gait." To get it right, Gleeson didn't just rely on the makeup chair. He looked at the psychology. He wanted a "fully rounded figure," not a statue.
There's this famous scene where Churchill accidentally parades naked in front of FDR. It's funny, yeah, but it also shows the vulnerability and the lack of boundaries that made the man both impossible and incredible. Gleeson’s Churchill is a guy who demands an hour-long nap every day regardless of the bombs falling. He’s petulant. He’s rude to his servants. But when he speaks to the nation, you see why they followed him.
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He won an Emmy for this. Deservedly so. He beat out Kenneth Branagh, Ian McKellen, and Kiefer Sutherland that year. That's a murderer's row of talent to top.
Accuracy vs. Drama
Is it 100% historically perfect? Kinda.
The film is praised for being "factually accurate" in the broad strokes. It doesn't shy away from his controversial views on the Labour Party or his fear of the British Empire dissolving. However, like any biopic, it cherry-picks the best quotes. One of the most interesting nuances is how it handles his relationship with "Uncle Joe" Stalin. It shows the "cosying up" that was necessary for victory, even if it turned Churchill's stomach.
The real heart of the movie isn't the war rooms, though. It's the domestic stuff. Janet McTeer as Clementine is the only person who can actually stand up to him. Their dynamic feels lived-in. You see the cost of leadership on a marriage—the long nights, the obsession, the "blinkered single-mindedness."
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Why You Should Care Today
In a world of polished, heroic biopics, Into the Storm feels refreshingly messy. It’s about a man who was the perfect weapon for a specific moment in time, but who became obsolete the second the guns stopped firing.
If you're a fan of Gleeson from The Banshees of Inisherin or In Bruges, you've got to see this. It shows his range in a way his modern roles often don't. He captures the "darkly shining sorrow" in Churchill’s eyes that few other actors have caught.
Actionable Insights for Fans and History Buffs
- Watch it as a double feature: If you can find The Gathering Storm (2002) with Albert Finney, watch it first. Then watch Gleeson. It’s fascinating to see two different masters tackle the same man at different life stages.
- Pay attention to the audio: Howard Goodall won an Emmy for the score. It’s subtle but does a lot of the heavy lifting during those quiet, lonely moments in France.
- Look for the small details: Check out the scene where he meets Bernard Montgomery. It’s a great example of Churchill’s ability to recognize a kindred, stubborn spirit.
- Check the streaming status: It often cycles through HBO Max (now Max) or can be grabbed on digital platforms. It’s one of those films that stays in the "recommended" bar for a reason.
Stop looking for the "perfect" Churchill. He didn't exist. Instead, look for the human one Gleeson gave us. It’s gritty, it’s loud, and it’s deeply moving.
Next Steps:
Go watch the 1945 election speech scene in the film. Compare Gleeson's delivery to the actual historical transcripts of Churchill's "Gestapo" speech. It’s a masterclass in how an actor can take a political disaster and turn it into a compelling character study of a man losing his grip on a changing world.