Set in London at the height of the blitz in September 1940, 9-year-old George is evacuated to Somerset but undertakes a quest to be reunited with his mother Rita in writer/director Steve McQueen’s wartime drama Blitz.
Wartime separation
by Chris DrewBlitz
CAUTION: Here be spoilers
1.25 million were evacuated from cities during the blitz, as the opening titles confirm, and writer/director Steve McQueen focusses on one such affected family with 9-year-old George (Elliott Heffernan, screen debut) living with his single mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn) and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller, feature debut for the musician).
Rita and George are shown to have a lovely connection, so it is incredibly hard for both when he is evacuated. At the station an emotional George says he hates his mother, refusing to look at her out the window while she’s bereft on the platform.
George soon jumps from the train and much of the film tracks his determined journey home with the narrative largely cutting between him and Rita back in London while flashbacks are used for glimpses of happier times.
On the day of George’s evacuation Rita is chosen at her factory to sing on a BBC broadcast which sees colleagues protest about the lack of shelters after her performance.
George faces various challenges as he travels with racist comments about his mixed heritage, a sadly a common occurrence, something which affects Rita as well.
McQueen captures life for those living under threat poised for the sirens including solidarity and having a British ‘stiff upper lip’, a Punch and Judy show is performed in one underground station shelter. One haunting scene sees a packed joyful dancehall moments before a bombing.
There are shocking moments where a character meets a sudden fate, but some story beats feel somewhat obvious; seeing a necklace being given in flashback and the fate of one character who says he will be back in a few hours.
Other elements feel underwritten including George’s father’s fate, partially shown in flashback, which is confirmed in a throwaway comment George makes to caring Ife (Benjamin Clémentine, Dune: Part One).
Several scenes feel reminiscent of James Cameron’s Titanic: a dream sequence full of deceased characters, a scared and bewildered crowd being kept out of locked gates and in another scene different gates being submerged in water.
Things take a sinister turn for George when he finds himself forcefully recruited by a group of opportunistic thieves. The majority of characters seem obviously ‘good’ or ‘bad’ with little nuance in the middle.
McQueen opts not to go for a big emotional resolution which, while perhaps admirable, means the ending is slightly more underwhelming than it could have been.
The production values are high throughout, with Ronan’s immaculate 1940s tailoring a highlight for both hairstyling and costuming.
Ronan is typically strong in her first maternal role. Showing her gift for accents as long ago as Atonement, the Oscar nominee thoroughly sells being a passionate Londoner and the plight of being a distraught mother once she learns George did not arrive in Somerset.
In the lead role Heffernan makes an impressive debut giving George plenty of soul while a cartoonish Kathy Burke (Elizabeth), part of the thieving troop, has some very amusing line readings but feels like she has wandered in from a very different film.
As Jack, the kindly policeman who helps Rita, Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness) is given a bewilderingly underwritten role. With extremely limited screen time, no backstory and few lines, it feels like much of his performance could have been left on the cutting-room floor.
Well-made but inconsistently written, Blitz could have been both more emotional and more thrilling against the backdrop of such a dark time in British history but is nonetheless a pleasant watch.
Blitz premiered at the BFI London Film Festival 2024 on 9 (world premiere) October, and screened on 10, 11 and 18 October 2024. It is released on 1 November 2024 in the UK and streams on Apple TV+ on 22 November 2024.
