That would be Blitz, Steve McQueen's World War II drama that premiered theatrically and on Apple TV+ a few months ago. I've heard it hyped for quite a bit, so let's finally see how it is.
In 1940, young George Hanway (Elliot Heffernan), who is biracial, lives happily in London with his mom, Rita (Saorise Ronan) and Granddad Gerald (Paul Weller). When The Blitz starts that September, George is among the thousands of kids evacuated to the English countryside. George refuses to acknowledge his mother when she says goodbye at the station, and we're left with his long and resentful blank stare as the scene fades away.
A short time later, George gets homesick, so he jumps off the train and gets going back to London. He meets a few interesting characters, including a sinister couple, Albert (Stephen Graham) and Beryl (Kathy Burke), who get George to help them steal from bombed-out buildings. Meanwhile, Rita does her patriotic duty as a munitionette and a shelter volunteer. All the while, the Nazi war machine continues to rain down on Great Britain. Will there be a happy ending?
This is basically a Dickensian story set during World War II, only without a massive length. George spends the movie meeting one new character - or a set of them - then moves on to the next. Before the aforementioned Fagin-esque crooks, George first meets a trio of young train-hopping brothers. They're all likable lads, who initially tease George with some light nursery rhyming. Indeed, it's a shocking swerve when the oldest brother is abruptly run over by a train. That's followed by him meeting Ife (Benjamin Clementine), a Nigerian MP who helps George accept his racial identity. He's a pretty good guy, but he's also too good to last to the end.
We don't see anyone get blown up, but we do feel the dread in the air. There's an extended party scene at a nightclub, all but stated to be the Cafe de Paris, just before everyone hears a bomb falling. In the next scene, Goerge is scavenging the bombed-out nightclub with Albert's gang. A few other scenes see sheltering Londoners listen to The Blitz, with each bomb threatening their Underground shelter. It's this sense of constant dread that got its sound designers a spot on the Oscar-shortlist, and perhaps a nomination. Its opening act, which shows the chaos during the first attack, would be a great scene to show the Sound Branch.
That same dread accentuates George's journey rather well. His jumping off the train is quite reckless, but we also understand why he did it. His first scavenging mission is at a jewelry shop that sounds like it might completely collapse any second. While I said we don't see anyone blown up, George flees as bombs explode around him during an attack and is later caught up in the Balham Tube Flood. Besides The Blitz, he also deals with the frighteningly loathsome and unstable Albert and his cronies. Heffernan's compelling performance keeps us invested in George's odyssey during the two-hour runtime.
What about the adults? Well, Rita is just as compelling as her son, especially when she tells off some government bigwigs for letting George escape and does the same to her stingy boss. We only see George's dad, a Grenadian immigrant named Marcus (CJ Beckford) for one long flashback, before he's unfairly taken away from the movie. He still makes an impression as a likable guy. A few more sympathetic characters include Jess (Mica Ricketts), and oddly enough, Ruby (Heather Craney). Jess, who is basically Albert's talent scout, recruits George in the gang, and clearly hates doing so. Ruby, meanwhile, nurses George back to health after the Tube Flood and reports him to the authorities. I'd like to hope she was obliviously acting on the best of intentions.
What else can I say about it? I had little trouble with Ife & shelter supervisor Mickey Davies's (Leigh Gill) "we're all in this together" speeches, other than that they were a bit blunt. There are a few random scene transitions, including a field of flowers that lack context, while the balancing act between George and Rita's storylines is a bit off. I mean, it takes over an hour before we see Rita learn of George's escape. Rita's also an aspiring singer, but that barely goes anywhere, other than her getting to sing the admittedly nice and Oscar-shortlisted Winter Coat for the BBC. While McQueen wrote the song with Nicholas Britell & Taura Stinson, the also-shortlisted Hans Zimmer provides the intense score.
Blitz was clearly made with the best of intentions. Fortunately, these intentions give us a pretty good war drama. Its story of survival is compelling, while its scattershot and bluntest elements are barely a detriment. And yes, to answer the earlier question, there is a happy ending, but I won't spoil how it plays out. The only way for you to know is if you check it out on Apple TV+ yourself. As I said last year, I might get back to it if I'm feeling secure about my finances. All that said, I think I might check out the movie again if I get back on the service. I think it's worth some of the hype.
Now, to the next review.
