After Mangrove came in like a force of nature, Steve McQueen decided to throw a party. Lovers Rock takes us to the 1970s London world of house partying to the sensual toons of West Indian easy listening. I’ve never attended a Lovers Rock party, and like any good director, McQueen makes me bummed I will never get the chance to, that’s how sexy fun the movie can be.
Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) has church Sunday morning. That’s not gonna stop her and her friend Patty (Shaniqua Okwok) from hitting up the big house party this Saturday though. She sneaks out in her best dress and shoes, and public transports across the city to the house party, fully equipped with food, doormen, and a killer sound system, as well as the latest hits: some of those cats are fast as lightning! And maybe Martha or Patty could run into a boy if they’re lucky…
There’s very little dialogue, and really no story in Lovers Rock. Steve McQueen’s direction makes it look like a bunch of bloggers livestreaming a kickass party, weaving onto and off of the dance floor. This puts you in the middle of the action, making you heat up yourself as you see the sweat on people’s faces when the temperature of the room swells. You also wanna kung fu with everyone else, or bump n grind with a lady you’re into. Rhianna’s “sex in the air” is referring to Lovers Rock’s house parties, where the music is designed to get you excited, warm you up, and get you up close and personal with someone. Anyone who’s been to a high school rager will recognize the euphoria and joy Lovers Rock dances you into, so you yourself will sing the music back into being so you can keep dancing, or channel all that rage into movement to a rebellion jam.
There’s also little reminders McQueen is dropping in about how this story fits into the larger tale he’s trying to tell with his 5 movie Small Axe anthology. While the house might be will with good times, surrounding it is the opposite, with someone with more power demanding Martha or the other young kids follow society’s rules. Martha at one point gets catcalled by some Caucasian teens, and the private spaces are potentially dark, or closed in threatening locales. And while most of the party attendees can check their anger at the door, not all of them are there with the best intent. Yet another reason the party becomes so appealing: it’s a safe space to just be yourself and set aside the worries of the world, if only for one amazing night.
And so Steve McQueen’s Small Axe looks like lamb curry served in the kitchen of a poppin dance party in 1979. The first 2 movies in his anthology point to a bunch of different directions where his movies might go. Though I have no idea where I’m going, I’m confident that in McQueen’s hands I might see something special. And even if I don’t, I’ll have something to dance to with Lovers Rock!