Blitz boasts one of the most anticipated mergings of story and director. Steve McQueen, the great UK director, making a movie about the London Blitz during World War II? Hell yeah, sign me up everyday. There’s a lot of what could have been with this one, but the heights it gets to remind everyone why McQueen is one of great directors working today.
For the kids out there, the London Blitz happened when the Nazis had taken over Europe, and the UK was the only country who hadn’t surrendered (but before the US entered the war), resulting in bombing barrages all over the country. At this time, mother like Rita (Saoirse Ronan) were compelled to send their kids like George (Elliott Heffernan) to the countryside, away from the terrifying air raid sirens and underground panic caused by the German Luftwaffe. George wants to stay with his mom and grandad (Paul Weller) though, and sneaks off the train right after it leaves the station, forcing him to figure out how to get back to his home on his own.
I feel so tantalized with this one, which McQueen feels tug of warring with history. The opening sequence sucks you in right away: a terrifying look into what happens during one of those air raids, and the constant panic but also collective resolve of the London residents, just trying to stay alive for one more day. That’s the good real life stuff I hoped the movie roller coastered us through. Instead, McQueen uses the real life train trips all the kids take as a way to separate Rita from George, and parallel their stories. But the way this is done takes George’s story too long to get back into London during Blitz activities, shortchanging many of rich subplots McQueen so badly wants to delve into. He teases us enough with some great ideas (collective patriotism vs. racist tendencies, situational prejudice, money’s power during wartime to name a few), but the minute we’re ready for more we’re off on another George or Rita adventure, leaving us wanting.
But the minute those bombs are dropped from the air, McQueen shows those incredible directing chops. There’s a jaw dropping shot with George running while a building is on fire. Or the highlight sequence in the tube tunnels that legitimately shocked me up out of my lying down position. McQueen’s setpiece setups make me wonder if he simply ran out of money to do more, just a bummer if so. Also, some of the subplots deliver, including nicely juxtaposed adventures George has with solider Ife (Benjamin Clementine) and local profiteer Albert (Stephen Graham). On the adult side, Saoirse Ronan holds together a bunch of stories with her acting chops, including a great one about the underground political movements during wartime.
Despite the highs of Blitz, I can’t help but hope for a do-over someday, with Steve McQueen at the helm. Even if that doesn’t happen, he’s still aces in my book, producing the modern day version of a movie anthology that I’ll remember for a long time, as well as making maybe the definitive movie about slavery. Keep picking cool projects sir! I even followed you to a 4 hour documentary about occupied Amsterdam! But don’t do another one of those, that’s my limit.