Film review: ‘BLITZ’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

Opening this year’s British Film Festival was the moving if uneven World War Two home front drama, Blitz from 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen. Blitz is at times surprising and quite radical in a way that’s guaranteed to provoke conservatives but in other ways it’s very old fashioned and reminiscent of much-loved childhood adventure stories like The Railway Children.

The film explores the at times tenuous family and community bonds that held people together amid the horror of the London bombing, something that was reciprocated in Germany although that’s not mentioned here.

Saoirse Ronan stars as young single mother Rita, an armaments factory worker and aspiring singer who lives with her young son George (Elliott Heffernan) and her father Gerald (Paul Weller).  When George, like so many children at the time, is repatriated to the country to avoid the blitz, he bitterly resents being sent away and decides to exit the train prematurely and try to find his way back to London. His odyssey sees him not only face serious danger from the bombing but also encounter vile Dickensian crims and some wonderfully compassionate people like air raid warden Ife (Benjamin Clementine).  In addition, he witnesses an entire society forced into hiding from the fiery death raining on them.  The film at times resembles Sam Mendes 1917 as it tracks George’s journey through a hellscape of bombs and skeletal buildings.

This is not just a depiction of life during wartime or child’s adventure.  McQueen takes a deliberate left leaning stance, questioning the authorities who at first kept the London underground closed and depicting socialist organisations as heroic public servants.  He also shows how George, as a mixed-race child, encounters prejudice that confounds the Londoners’ solidarity and is forced to confront his identity as a child of the British empire.  McQueen also celebrates black culture and community in Britain at the time, particularly the exuberant jazz clubs.

As well as intertwining a thought-provoking mix of historical, social and political elements, McQueen has crafted a visually impressive film. His deft direction and the detailed production design convincingly capture a devastated London. While giving the film a broad sweep, however, he still maintains an intimate connection with the characters.

Despite succeeding on a number of levels, Blitz doesn’t entirely hold together.  Some of the dialogue feels cliched, forced and unnatural and some characters seem more like conduits for ideas rather than believable people.

Saorise Ronan, who is always impressive does a fine job capturing the emotions of a parent contemplating the worst when she discovers her son is missing in the midst of the bombing.  Her story, though, doesn’t feel as important and compelling as George’s and her character ultimately feels underdeveloped.  Paul Weller isn’t given a lot of screen time but still radiates warmth although it’s a little disconcerting to see a punk icon playing a grandad.  Young Elliott Heffernan is a revelation, though, as George. He makes the youngster precocious and a bit of a hard nut but a very sympathetic figure about whom we desperately care.

While it feels a little clunky at times, Blitz is a mostly engrossing drama and chronicle of the struggle to maintain humanity in the most inhumane circumstances.

Nick’s rating: ***1/2

Genre: Drama/ Historical.

Classification: M.

Director(s): Steve McQueen.

Release date: 6th Nov 2024.

Running time: 120 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

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