But the film Darkest Hour reveals his qualities as a ferocious leader, who battled his fears and uncertainties and rallied Britain to victory against the Nazis.
Then I came to a part of the story in which a man, a strong man full of wine, begins to break down a door, and the sound of the dry wood as it breaks can be heard through all the forest around him.
The first question to ask in assessing is which Rome, the plucky peasants who dropped their ploughs, picked up their swords and conquered Italy, and returned home just in time for the harvest?