November 22, 2024
FILM: BLITZ
DIRECTED BY: STEVE MCQUEEN
STARRING: SAOIRSE RONAN, ELLIOTT HEFFERNAN, BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
It’s 1940 and Hitler has begun making attacks on London. Children are being sent away for safety purposes, thus separating them from their parents. This is the set-up for Blitz, the new film from writer/director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Shame, Hunger.) Saoirse Ronan plays Rita, a single mother living with her nine-year old son George and her father Gerald, played by musician Paul Weller. The opening scene features the city on fire. Following this we find the three of them at home just before the air raid sirens begin. This establishes the nonlinear structure that McQueen will occasionally use throughout the rest of the film. I’m often a fan of such an approach but there’s something about this narrative and editing style that unfortunately feels haphazard and sometimes emotionally ineffective in Blitz.
Early on, George is put on a train much to his dismay. He makes a decision to jump off and head back home. His journey becomes the central focus of the film while Rita works in a bomb-making factory. These early scenes with the boy are rather riveting as he gets involved with a few other stowaway boys and then a band of underground thieves trying to benefit from the death and destruction around London.
There are moments when the timeline is disrupted though with flashbacks and dream sequences creating some narrative confusion. One scene, for instance, features Rita walking through all the rubble, presumably between the factory and her home. In a subsequent scene, there is a lively club with a lot of well-dressed, sophisticated people dancing it up while a band plays. They all seem oblivious to what is about to happen to Great Britain. It’s not clear initially when this celebration occurs in the time line. Are they not aware of how close the Nazis are? How much before or after George’s initial train ride does this take place? What about the rubble that Rita has just traveled through? Have they not seen it? In another scene, we do learn that only a day has transpired since George got on the train which feels a bit startling due to the amount of activity that has occurred up to that point in the narrative. There is also at least one unnecessary dream sequence that again distorts a sense of continuity. Similarly, I found that the geography and distance traveled by the characters is vague and unclear for those not from the U.K.
All of this is to say that Blitz is not a perfect film. However, given all of its perplexing editing and settings, it is a very impressive production. The fire and destruction scenes are eerily realistic. The 1940s era cars, costumes, and interior spaces created feel very much in tune to the time. The score by Hans Zimmer is impressive if a bit traditional by design.
The actors are good but somewhat underutilized. Saoirse Ronan shows another level of maturity as she did in her other project this year, The Outrun. Her range between these two roles further demonstrates her versatility as an actress. It’s hard to believe that it was just a few years ago she played a high school girl in Lady Bird. While this time she gets to be the mother and even sing a song or two, she’s lacking one big scene that would put this performance over the top.
Newcomer Elliott Heffernan is very good as George. He demonstrates that he is able to carry the many scenes in which he is the primary character featured. He’s highly believable as George, who must be a fearless and resourceful fighter. He also has some nice quiet moments with a caring soldier he meets on his journey.
Wasted is Harris Dickinson as Jack, a soldier who assists Rita in trying to find George. His part was either underwritten or edited down for the final cut because he is barely featured in the film.
So, while the period is well-captured, the production design is stellar, and the performances are fine, Blitz is a bit of a mess as far as its story goes. It unfortunately aims to be something bigger than it ends up being.
Blitz is now streaming on AppleTV+.
FILM: BLITZ
DIRECTED BY: STEVE MCQUEEN
STARRING: SAOIRSE RONAN, ELLIOTT HEFFERNAN, BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
It’s 1940 and Hitler has begun making attacks on London. Children are being sent away for safety purposes, thus separating them from their parents. This is the set-up for Blitz, the new film from writer/director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Shame, Hunger.) Saoirse Ronan plays Rita, a single mother living with her nine-year old son George and her father Gerald, played by musician Paul Weller. The opening scene features the city on fire. Following this we find the three of them at home just before the air raid sirens begin. This establishes the nonlinear structure that McQueen will occasionally use throughout the rest of the film. I’m often a fan of such an approach but there’s something about this narrative and editing style that unfortunately feels haphazard and sometimes emotionally ineffective in Blitz.
Early on, George is put on a train much to his dismay. He makes a decision to jump off and head back home. His journey becomes the central focus of the film while Rita works in a bomb-making factory. These early scenes with the boy are rather riveting as he gets involved with a few other stowaway boys and then a band of underground thieves trying to benefit from the death and destruction around London.
There are moments when the timeline is disrupted though with flashbacks and dream sequences creating some narrative confusion. One scene, for instance, features Rita walking through all the rubble, presumably between the factory and her home. In a subsequent scene, there is a lively club with a lot of well-dressed, sophisticated people dancing it up while a band plays. They all seem oblivious to what is about to happen to Great Britain. It’s not clear initially when this celebration occurs in the time line. Are they not aware of how close the Nazis are? How much before or after George’s initial train ride does this take place? What about the rubble that Rita has just traveled through? Have they not seen it? In another scene, we do learn that only a day has transpired since George got on the train which feels a bit startling due to the amount of activity that has occurred up to that point in the narrative. There is also at least one unnecessary dream sequence that again distorts a sense of continuity. Similarly, I found that the geography and distance traveled by the characters is vague and unclear for those not from the U.K.
All of this is to say that Blitz is not a perfect film. However, given all of its perplexing editing and settings, it is a very impressive production. The fire and destruction scenes are eerily realistic. The 1940s era cars, costumes, and interior spaces created feel very much in tune to the time. The score by Hans Zimmer is impressive if a bit traditional by design.
The actors are good but somewhat underutilized. Saoirse Ronan shows another level of maturity as she did in her other project this year, The Outrun. Her range between these two roles further demonstrates her versatility as an actress. It’s hard to believe that it was just a few years ago she played a high school girl in Lady Bird. While this time she gets to be the mother and even sing a song or two, she’s lacking one big scene that would put this performance over the top.
Newcomer Elliott Heffernan is very good as George. He demonstrates that he is able to carry the many scenes in which he is the primary character featured. He’s highly believable as George, who must be a fearless and resourceful fighter. He also has some nice quiet moments with a caring soldier he meets on his journey.
Wasted is Harris Dickinson as Jack, a soldier who assists Rita in trying to find George. His part was either underwritten or edited down for the final cut because he is barely featured in the film.
So, while the period is well-captured, the production design is stellar, and the performances are fine, Blitz is a bit of a mess as far as its story goes. It unfortunately aims to be something bigger than it ends up being.
Blitz is now streaming on AppleTV+.