Blitz (2024)

Steve McQueen is one of the finest British directors working today, and a portrayal of life during the Blitz of 1940 told with specific focus on the experience of Black people seems like an intriguing proposal; not to mention one that has barely been covered in mainstream cinema over the years.

Saoirse Ronan is on brilliant form as Rita, single Mother of a biracial boy George (newcomer Elliott Heffernan) who is forced to evacuate George to the country whilst London is in the midst of a brutal German air assault. She and George live with her Father Gerald (a quietly effective Paul Weller no less), in Stepney Green at a time when racism was rife- but barely seen through cinema's previous wartime spectacles.

Although an important historical lesson in this sense- something that McQueen has produced so brilliantly in the past with his Small Axe series (2020)- here it does feel slightly forced, as each scrap that George finds himself in (after he jumps from the train of evacuees and begins his journey back to his Mum) resolves itself in similar ways.

Blitz sometimes reminds you of those Sunday afternoon films you might put on and enjoy the spirit of the period; Jack Gold's Goodnight Mister Tom (1998) sprung to mind as did John Boorman's Hope & Glory (1987). Blitz is without doubt on a much bigger scale than the former and also a far better film than the latter (Boorman's Bafta winning film is one that I never really took to). And somewhat unexpectedly, Blitz failed to grip me emotionally (unlike Goodnight Mister Tom did back in the day); it's not that the characters are unlikable, more that the flashbacks we see don't quite delve enough into their backstory to offer us that heft. Rita's relationship with George's Dad ends violently at the hands of a group of racist thugs, but I didn't feel as invested as I should have done, meaning Rita's devastation felt sadly inert- but not as a result of Ronan's efforts.

Blitz's main problem is that after half an hour or so it feels terribly telegraphed. Once the tone has been set, every part of George's journey especially is very predictable, right up to the film's finale. Although McQueen's world building and visuals are astonishing (especially the practical effects of the film's opening during a blaze after a German bomb attack) they're such that I ended up wanting more of them, to the point that I wished I was watching a full on Steve McQueen battle film- something that we still may get in the future.

McQueen is such a fine director (despite the brilliance of 12 Years A Slave [2013], Shame [2011] is probably still my favourite of his) that even the fact that Blitz is undoubtedly one of his weaker films, it's still eminently watchable. Despite my lack of emotional connection, I still enjoyed it for the duration and it's a real shame it's got such a slight cinematic release because the visuals and sound are something to admire on the big screen. 6.9/10