And so we hit the end. The last of the Small Axe films. After court cases, police infiltration, house parties, and more than a bit of protesting, Steve McQueen boils down what axe matters most with a simple, potent story. A mission statement. A way forward in society. Simply put: Education.
The 1970s West Indian community member Small Axe visionary Steve McQueen chooses to focus on is tweener Kingsley (Kenyah Sandy). Though he has aspirations to be an astronaut, Kingsley is struggling to read, affecting his test scores, which has drawn alarm from his teachers. Also, even when the whole class is acting up, Kingsley is sent to the principal’s office. Eager to get a bad student out of his school, the principal convinces Kingsley’s mom (Agnes, played by Sharlene Whyte) and dad (Esmond, played by Daniel Francis) to send Kingsley to a special boarding school to “help” Kingsley. Being set in the 1970s, neither Kingsley or Agnes know what special really means, unfortunately.
The societal ill McQueen dives deep into is obviously the racial biases in the English education system in the 1970s. In general, immigrants are already at a disadvantage in some way from cultural differences or income/educational disparity. Normally these ills focus on just how poor kids like Kingsley are affected by being unfairly targeted by teachers. though little fault of their own. McQueen goes deeper though, showing how parents are affected at the same time, usually because of world pressures like money or time. Agnes and Esmond are almost model immigrants: god fearing, good parents who also work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Early on, we see Agnes coming home from a night shift and makes breakfast, while Esmond awakens to go to his job, and how the kids (their eldest daughter Stephanie is played by Tamara Lawrence) barely touch their meal on the way out the door. Agnes clearly assumes this is because of laziness and priviledge from her kids. But with zero free time, Agnes assumes the special school the principal is pushing Kingsley into is fine because she assumes the British system makes everyone’s lives better like it has made hers, and she has zero time to investigate what sinister actions are afoot. This leaves Kingsley alone to deal with this horrible lifestyle change; once in school, McQueen shows just how insipid education has gotten for the boy, and how quickly he starts falling behind. Worst of all, mom just assumes it’s because he’s not working enough, showing how little the family knows about each other and what they’re up against..
Since this is the last movie of his anthology, McQueen shows us how the vicious systemic spiral can be stopped: education, and community engagement. Unknown to Agnes, activists Lydia Thomas (Josette Simon) and Hazel (Naomi Ackie) know the disenfranchisement going on in these “special” schools, and reach out to Agnes and Kingsley with reading material and invitations to community forums and educational services. Though initially resistant, Agnes sees how Kingsley’s pleas for help are not alone, as multiple community members talk about how the British system has failed them and their children. Through education, Agnes’s eyes are wide open. She, being the powerful matriarch that she is, convinces the rest of the family to start sharing what they’ve been going through, and how they’re going to solve the problems together: family education solved. That desire to grow then spreads like a wildfire, as the family becomes a part of the larger community, and contributes to that community by partaking in the services of the community, which not only helps the children but educates everyone on their African heritage, only helping their community further. The ending is just lovely, and shows how the world can open up if you choose to give a damn and educate yourself.
With all the necessary studio pushbacks of theatrical releases, this was the year for a streaming service to assert their dominance. Amazon Prime and Steve McQueen basically said challenge accepted, and took the mantle from everyone with a 5 movie anthology series not seen in 25 years. It’s good to see that even in a bleak year, great stories can come, even from places you don’t expect.