Blitz, 2024.
Written and Directed by Steve McQueen.
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, and Kathy Burke.
SYNOPSIS:
Follow the stories of a group of Londoners during the events of the British capital bombing in World War II.
Steve McQueen has been a pioneering voice in contemporary cinema since his debut film Hunger in 2008. He has never been one to shy away from making thought-provoking and distinct works like Shame and Widows. His latest feature film is Blitz which opens this year’s instalment of the London Film Festival. This follows a string of successful TV and documentary projects led by his Small Axe series released to wide acclaim in 2020.
Blitz follows Saoirse Ronan’s Rita and her young son George in 1940’s London at the height of the bombardment from the Luftwaffe. It is a fraught time with their neighbourhood in Stepney Green coming under fire and Rita forced to evacuate George. George’s father Marcus was from Guyana and mysteriously vanished from their lives.
We cut between Rita’s work in a munitions factory while George jumps of the train and tries to make his way back to London, encountering a series of eclectic characters and finding himself in a number of precarious situations.
Rita is a talented singer who has a close bond with her fellow factory workers while making sure she is the best mother possible for George. She is full of fire and drive, living with her father Gerald played by British music icon Paul Weller making his acting debut at 66. Weller leaves a solid impression with much of his screentime surrounded by the piano and music, he feels naturally at home.
Elliott Heffernan who was just nine when shooting is a revelation, wide-eyed and full of excitement one minute and deeply vulnerable the next. Sadly outside of the mother and son the rest of the cast mostly feels like cameos, including some major names like Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke and Harris Dickinson. Benjamin Clementine, also a musician by trade leaves an impression as Ife an Air Raid Warden George encounters, inspired by a real life figure.
As one would expect from a Steve McQueen film there is much to admire and the craft on display here is at times breathtaking especially during a pair of dance sequences. Cleverly much of the devastation of the bombing is shown after the event but there are some strong sequences involving George narrowly evading explosions while also being trapped in London Bridge station while it floods.
For all its highs there is a sense of McQueen trying to cram in too many subplots, the arrival of Stephen Graham and his gang feels very Dickensian, straight out of Oliver Twist and at odds tonally with the rest of the film. Given more time to breathe this could have had more of an impact.
If not perfect there is plenty to admire from McQueen, for whom this is clearly a passion project and something he has been developing for a number of years. The cast deliver fine performances while it shines a light on elements of the Blitz not depicted previously, following George’s perspective adds an extra layer and makes this feel like a fresh story we’ve not seen before. McQueen’s flair as a director keeping it constantly engaging.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Connor
