Steve McQueen's Blitz brought a lump to my throat with its power

Sir Steve McQueen’s latest film, Blitz, is both a moving love letter to London and those communities devastated on home soil during World War Two and a stark reminder today of conflict’s impact on children.

With Blitz, the director has perfected lump-in-throat filmmaking courtesy of the movie’s urgency and underlying sense of dread.

This is beautifully reflected by Hans Zimmer’s masterful score that blends in with the cacophony of war and warns the audience of the ever-present threat to all those living in the East End during Nazi Germany’s brutally consistent bombing campaign of 1940-41.

It also inspires constant pricks of panic over the fate of its nine-year-old protagonist, George (played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan), as he defiantly fights against being evacuated to the country and tries to find his way home to Stepney Green and mum Rita (Saoirse Ronan, nailing the accent). 

But it’s no simple task for the youngster, who must contend with the dangers of both wartime machinery and how it impacts desperate people – there are many who have no interest in George’s survival, let alone his wellbeing.

The faceless threat may be Nazi Germany, but there are myriad closer to home too, chief among these is the terrifying gang of crooks led by a menacing Stephen Graham. But there’s also railways, geography and most other adult authority figures.

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The reality of World War Two is brought chillingly near in Blitz, also written by McQueen and inspired by his own time as a war artist in Iraq in 2004, through both its narrative and hugely evocative production design.

It examines both the cohesion and camaraderie these conditions can bring among neighbours, as well as the hostility and outright racism Black, Asian and Jewish Londoners often faced at the time.

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Heffernan is gorgeously naturalistic as the bolshy but vulnerable George, who feels guilty for lashing out and telling Rita he hated her as he boarded the evacuee train. As Rita, Ronan is as seamlessly authentic as ever, working a trying job in a munitions factory and raising her son with the help of her father (Paul Weller); we learn that George’s father was deported, breaking apart the family.

She remains one of her generation’s greatest performance talents, and also displays a lovely singing voice for the new but period-authentic song Winter Coat. Co-written by McQueen and his 12 Years A Slave musical collaborator Nicholas Britell, it slots in perfectly with the mood and style of the songs that Londoners sang to soothe themselves in the air raid shelters.

McQueen also displays an impressive knack for casting rawer acting talent among adults, with both mod and music legend Weller and singer-songwriter Benjamin Clémentine, who takes on the inspired-by-real-life role of Nigerian Air Raid Precautions warden, Ife. He is one of Blitz’s brightest sparks.

The film’s careful accuracy also encompasses the government’s initial reluctance to allow sheltering in all tube stations, as well as the terrifying danger of firefighting during the Blitz.

We’ve all seen many good war films, but Blitz more than holds its own in the genre by taking a look at a specific time and through a specific lens that hasn’t been done with such devastating consequences before – I’m convinced it’s another major awards contender for Oscar-winner McQueen and co.

It’s also as relevant as ever when images of destruction on a massive scale are something we still see splashed across the papers every day.

Blitz is in select cinemas from November 1, and its streaming release on Apple TV+ is from November 22.

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