As a connoisseur of cinema with a penchant for directors who challenge the status quo, Steve McQueen has always been a fascinating figure to me. His diverse body of work, from “Hunger” to “Small Axe,” showcases an uncanny ability to tackle complex societal issues and transform them into intimate, visceral experiences.
Steve McQueen’s films are not easily categorized, showing a unique restlessness in both subject matter and structure since his debut with the 2008 Irish hunger-strike drama “Hunger“. While there may be a hint of a philosophical thread in his choice to explore massive struggles on an intimate, sensory level, this is more of a tendency than a defining characteristic for a director whose work ranges widely. McQueen’s body of work spans from a chilly portrayal of a sex addict in “Shame” to the powerful depiction of slavery in “12 Years a Slave>”, and further to the taut heist movie “Widows>” and then to “Small Axe“, an anthology series presenting a vibrant portrait of London’s West Indian community.
In a striking contrast, McQueen’s latest films delve into World War II, yet they couldn’t be more dissimilar. Last year, he directed the documentary Occupied City, which showcased an impressive structural depth and sprawling duration of nearly five hours. It intertwined contemporary footage of Amsterdam with a chronicle of each location’s wartime history under Nazi occupation. On the other hand, his recent work, titled Blitz, is a nostalgic journey through 1940s London. The story follows a young boy named George (Elliott Heffernan) as he escapes from an evacuation train bound for the countryside and makes his way back to the war-torn city in search of his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan, delivering a commendable performance in a somewhat peculiar role that leans heavily on her supporting abilities).
In simpler terms, “Blitz” is McQueen’s least impressive film, but it’s important to note that even by broader standards, it’s not a terrible movie. However, its noble intentions often exceed its delivery, resulting in a clumsy and contrived narrative. The story follows an innocent boy, played by the angelic-faced lead, who is constantly evading danger and authorities determined to return him to a train station. The plot has a Dickensian feel with each adventure unfolding episodically. A notable instance is when the protagonist, George, finds himself among a group of thieves led by an unstable Stephen Graham. This gang uses George’s small stature to sneak into bombed-out sites and steal abandoned goods.
However, unlike Dickens’ works, “Blitz” lacks the sustained narrative drive as it swiftly transitions its young character from one precarious predicament to another. The movie instead portrays a London on the brink, fighting to preserve its frayed social order amidst the nightly bombings by German aircraft, appearing like grotesque beasts in the searchlights. Yet, the film does not fully rely on George’s viewpoint to convey this turmoil, often interrupting its fast-paced rhythm with scenes focusing on Rita. She is depicted going to work at a munitions factory, unsuccessfully attempting to unwind at a pub, spending time with her neighbor who seems infatuated with her, offering aid at a shelter, and ultimately learning that her son has vanished.
Similar to Martin Scorsese’s film “Hugo” and Todd Haynes’s “Wonderstruck,” the movie “Blitz” doesn’t primarily depict events from a child’s perspective, but rather through an adult’s eyes as they navigate from a lower viewpoint. The film’s didactic intentions sometimes interfere with its ability to deeply connect with its main character, as he is confronted with both the cruelty and kindness that humanity can manifest. While George isn’t new to encountering such cruelty – his father, Marcus (CJ Beckford), was a Grenadian immigrant who was deported before George was born, following accusations of an attack by racists – this past hardship only exacerbates his apprehension as he embarks on a train journey into the unknown, facing potential discrimination from fellow passengers.
In focusing on a biracial child navigating a turbulent war-ravaged nation, McQueen intends to challenge simplistic portrayals of this era as a unified “stay calm and move forward” front, and broaden the concept of a patriotic British identity to encompass caring Nigerian air raid wardens, dedicated Jewish community leaders, and ultimately, George, who emerges as an unlikely hero in a harrowing incident at an underground station. The ambition of Blitz to revise black-and-white historical narrative into something more diverse and less comforting is admirable, though it occasionally overshadows the film’s narrative.
In a more simplified and conversational manner, the statement could be rephrased as follows:
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2024-10-12 01:55