Gary Oldman is Winston Churchill in new Darkest Hour trailer

A quiet storm is brewing on the Oscar circuit in support of Gary Oldman’s leading turn as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, the new trailer for which suggests portraying the British leader at his finest hour could push the actor to similar heights this awards season.

Pride & Prejudice and Atonement director Joe Wright helms the historical drama, which follows the prime minister in the early days of his post, during which he weighs whether to negotiate a peace deal with the growing Nazi threat or rally the spirits of an entire nation to stand up to Hitler’s forces.

Along the way, Churchill is supported, challenged, and/or revered by a revolving door of figures, including his wife, Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas), his Foreign Secretary (Stephen Dillane), his personal secretary (Lily James), and King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn).

While the ensemble cast has received strong notices from movie critics, Oldman is currently pegged by many awards pundits as the frontrunner for the Best Actor Oscar, after the film world premiered earlier this year at the Telluride Film Festival to ecstatic reviews for the acting vet’s performance, Wright’s direction, Dario Marianelli’s riveting score, and two-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten’s screenplay.

Darkest Hour opens in select theaters on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Check out the new trailer above and the new one-sheet below.