Blitz – A vital fragment of the Steve McQueen saga

A mother and son reunion takes place on the bomb-shattered streets of World War Two-era London in this sweeping historical melodrama.

Academy Award winner Steve McQueen returns with wartime odyssey, Blitz, retelling key moments of the siege on the capital during World War Two as seen through the eyes of a biracial 9-year-old boy fleeing evacuation orders. Newcomer Elliot Heffernan, who plays our hero George, delivers a captivating performance, shouldering the at-times-unwieldy period drama with the same directness and confidence as its director. Beside McQueen himself, a big draw for audiences will be Saorise Ronan who slips seamlessly into the role of east-ender Rita, mother of George and daughter of Paul Weller’s piano-playing club crooner Gerald. Yet there’s perhaps a mite too little for Ronan to actually sink her teeth into.

The story unfolds over a day or so, with munitions factory worker Rita reluctantly evacuating George to the countryside. The racist taunts from other children on the train are enough to have George leaping off it and on a quest to reunite with his mother. McQueen has the utmost respect for Black children, and it’s George’s agency, not his helplessness in these situations that leads us to the underbelly of blitz-era London, where we encounter everything from corpse-robbing Kathy Burke and Stephen Graham in full horrifying Dickensian garb, to flooded-out tube stations where civilians attempted to shelter.

McQueen is a history buff, and young George lives a legendary 24 hours, with historical events and figures (Benjamin Clementine’s majestic ARP warden Ife being one) collaged into his story. However it’s worth noting that this is McQueen’s first feature film without a co-writer, and while his lens is as incisive and confrontational as ever – despite an Apple TV lacquer on the overall look of the picture – there are moments of heavy-handedness where more restraint may be desired.

Reflecting on McQueen’s oeuvre, Blitz is a clear culmination of his greatest passions, the film itself feeling at once fresh and well-trodden. Ronan has never looked more glamorous or sensual than when dancing in a Black 1930s nightclub, the camera as vivacious as the dancers, a scene that we would have been happy to sit in for the length of the picture. Hans Zimmer’s score is terse and dynamic, propelling us along on George’s voyage, and the broader cast are a delight to witness with Hayley Squires’ Tilda stealing every scene she’s in.

At a time when so-called colour blind period dramas are seen as a ‘win’, it feels all the more relieving to watch a film that tries its hand at honesty. We know the textbooks are less than a half-truth, but McQueen has cherry-picked history too, and true to form only the sour fruit is served back to us with finesse.

It’s only in recent years that McQueen has begun making films about London, most notably with the 2020 Small Axe anthology which boasts masterpieces such as Mangrove and Lover’s Rock, but also with the documentary series Uprising, about the tragedy of the 1981 New Cross Fire and its aftermath, and the 2023 art film Grenfell which depicts the remains of the Grenfell Tower and the Year 3 project that showcases the young faces of our cities future.

The accessibility of these works, available on the BBC or free in galleries, is crucial, as is the accessibility of a glossy period drama. While it’s unlikely McQueen would admit to some grand agenda, Blitz is certainly an extension of his work in recording the present and reshaping what we know of our past.

Published 10 Oct 2024

Tags: Hayley Squires London Film Festival Saoirse Ronan Steve MCQueen World War Two