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After exploring the ramifications of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam in his 4 1/2-hour 2023 documentary Occupied City, director-writer Steve McQueen returns to the era for his latest narrative feature Blitz, which takes us to the German Blitzkrieg of London as seen through the innocent eyes of a young boy who must survive it. The movie was the opening-night attraction of the London Film Festival, and will also be making its North American premiere later this month at the New York Film Festival. It begins a three-week theatrical window November 1 ahead of its streaming debut on Apple TV+ November 22.
Movies have centered on this dark period in British history before, and notably a Best Picture Oscar-nominated film, Hope And Glory in 1987, detailed it in a lighter fashion (if there could be one) with director John Boorman’s own semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story as a 9-year-old experiencing the Blitz.
McQueen researched the period heavily and has created this fictional story of a family caught up in the events of the period that would change Britain forever. Set in the eight months between September 1940 and May 1941, Blitz opens with a harrowing bombing sequence, the first of a few that are more artfully captured rather than graphic as McQueen sets his visual effects team loose on watching the bombs slowly headed to the ground before we see fire trucks and firefighters turning up to contain the damage.
On a human level we are introduced to young biracial boy, George (newcomer Elliot Heffernan), son of munitions factory worker Rita (Saoirse Ronan) and a Black father he never met. They live with his grandfather, Gerald (Paul Weller), who spends much of his time at the piano with loyal cat Olly. Next door is fireman Jack (Harris Dickinson), who it is clear fancies Rita even if she does not seem to know it. They do know, like so many other adults, that the Blitz is no place for children and so, against his wishes, they put George on a train with other kids to go out to the country where they will be safe and free from the constant bombings.
George, who has been previously bullied by the other overwhelmingly white kids, is an outsider who is absolutely miserable and decides impulsively to make a run for it after jumping off the train. Soon he finds himself chasing a freight car and landing in it where he encounters three other stowaway boys. That doesn’t end well when they all have to get out, with George now on the run by himself and determined to get back to his family in London.
Meanwhile, life goes on, as Rita works with close friends Tilda (Hayley Squires) and Doris (Erin Kellyman) in the munitions factory where one day she is selected to sing on a visiting BBC radio show. This is a particularly lovely sequence, with Ronan showing off a beautiful voice as she sings the plaintive “Winter Coat” (a song co written by McQueen with Nicholas Britell). McQueen also supplies some flashbacks detailing how Rita met George’s father Marcus (CJ Beckford), and the sad fate this young Black man is handed during an encounter when they are out one night.
Still, McQueen’s key interest is the almost Dickensian journey of George and his adventures in finding his way home. These include being befriended by a Black air-raid warden, Ife (Benjamin Clementine), and also being led into a gang of looters who find his small size comes in handy in crawling into tight spaces in bombed-out jewelry stores in order to steal merchandise. This rather suspenseful arc feels right out of Dickens’ Oliver Twist with a mean Fagin-like boss, Albert (Stephen Graham), evil Beryl (Kathy Burke) and more understanding Jess (Mica Ricketts), the latter luring him into the group. They also figure into a truly harrowing sequence where a fancy night club full of flashy entertainers and well-dressed patrons becomes the target of German bombs leading to mass casualties, and their attempt to rob the dead.
McQueen’s compelling screenplay switches between George’s journey and the happenings at home, where Rita becomes increasingly frantic once she learns George never got to the intended destination and was missing.
The object of a wide-casting search, newcomer Heffernan is perfect as the boy trying to get back to his family against all odds. Ronan is superb as usual as is Weller, a well-known British music star in a rare acting role. Clementine adds a nice touch of humanity amidst the carnage, and Dickinson makes the most of a smaller role as Jack. Singer Celeste wins points for her performance as Anita Sinclair in the nightclub scene, which marks a stunning contrast to the dire world outside where your average Brit was just trying to survive another day
All of this, as you might imagine with the caliber of filmmaker McQueen is, is superbly re-created with outstanding cinematography by Yorick Le Saux, excellent production design of everything from a crumbling London to a buzzing nightclub by Adam Stockhausen, on-target costume design from Jacqueline Durran, and a great score from Hans Zimmer.
Ironically, coming out of the period of the pandemic and now devastating wars in the Middle East and again even in Europe for the first time since World War II, Blitz takes on poignant relevance in ways McQueen probably couldn’t have imagined when he first was inspired by a photo he spotted in the early 2000s of a young Black boy with a suitcase standing at a train station, wondering what this boy might have been doing in the Blitz. The heartbreaking accounts we are hearing now about children tragically caught up in these new wars gives added power to the gripping and moving human story McQueen has given us from the past, one that sadly reminds us history does repeat itself all too often.
Producers are McQueen, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Anita Overland and Adam Somner.
Title: Blitz
Festival: London
Distributor: Apple Original Films
Release date: November 1, 2024 (streaming November 22)
Director-screenwriter: Steve McQueen
Cast: Elliot Heffernan, Saoirse Ronan, Paul Weller, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke, Mica Ricketts, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, CJ Beckford, Celeste
Rating: PG-13
Running time: 2 hr
