Steve McQueen Reviews and Articles | Little White Lies

Talent Steve McQueen

Review

Blitz – A vital fragment of the Steve McQueen saga

by Rógan Graham

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

5
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Cluttered suburban garden with children's toys, old car, and small wooden shed.
Review

Occupied City review – a staggeringly ambitious feat of emotional stamina

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Steven McQueen pro­vides a haunt­ing exam­i­na­tion of Ams­ter­dam under Nazi occu­pa­tion in con­trast to its present in his doc­u­men­tary adapt­ed from Bian­ca Stigter’s book of the same name.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A young Black man wearing glasses and a patterned jumper, standing in a hallway with colourful walls.
Review

Education

by Aaron Hunt

A West Indi­an boy comes up against a racist edu­ca­tion­al sys­tem in the final film of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A Black man with curly hair wearing a dark leather jacket stands in a doorway with a serious expression.
Review

Alex Wheatle

by Rógan Graham

The strik­ing fourth episode in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthol­o­gy depicts the dif­fi­cult blos­som­ing of an artist.

5
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A serious-looking man in a dark suit and tie stands with a green scarf around his neck.
Review

Red, White and Blue

by David Jenkins

John Boye­ga tack­les insti­tu­tion­al big­otry with­in the Met­ro­pol­i­tan Police in Steve McQueen’s sear­ing anti-racism drama.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two smiling people, a man and a woman, standing together outdoors surrounded by trees and foliage.
Review

Lovers Rock

by Hannah Strong

Steve McQueen deliv­ers a sub­lime par­ty film for the ages in the sec­ond instal­ment of his Small Axe series.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Four people in a backstage area, packing boxes on a table. The scene features diverse individuals in casual attire, suggesting a behind-the-scenes or production environment.
Review

Widows

by Hannah Strong

Steve McQueen deliv­ers the goods with a heist thriller about four women who take extreme mea­sures to pay back a debt.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two men in suits crouching on the road, discussing something. Cars and buildings in the background.
Review

Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans

by Bekzhan Sarsenbay

This por­trait of an icon pass­es the time with­out reveal­ing much about its subject.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A man wearing a straw hat standing in a cotton field.
Review

12 Years a Slave

by Ashley Clark

One of Britain’s great­est liv­ing film­mak­ers offers an out­raged, intense and art­ful exam­i­na­tion of Amer­i­can slavery.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Man in green puffer jacket standing in urban setting with high-rise buildings.
Review

Shame

by Adam Woodward

Steve McQueen’s erot­i­cal­ly-charged descent into sex addic­tion is by turns raw, ele­gant and uncompromising.

5
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A man sitting on a floor, alone and shirtless, appears to be using drugs.
Review

Hunger

by Matt Bochenski

Steve McQueen has pro­duced a biopic of IRA hunger strik­er Bob­by Sands that is doused in violence.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect