Review: ‘Blitz’ is a Visually Powerful Trip Back in Time

World War II is an international conflict remembered all around the world, with devastating consequences for so many people. Many countries sent soldiers to Europe and the Pacific and lost countless lives but some, like the United States, weren’t directly attacked on their own soil. While the United Kingdom was never occupied by the Nazis, it was under siege for months by German bombers during a period known as the Blitz. In his latest film, Steve McQueen tells an intimate family story set in the middle of the unpredictable devastation affecting London in 1940.

This film opens with an extended sequence of chaos, including an out-of-control firehose meant to put out a burning house that instead injures its intended user before several others are able to get it under control. That introduction sets a severe tone for this film, one that acknowledges the randomness and luck that can mean the difference between survival and death. Simple moments occur later on where falling debris nearly crushes someone and surely would have killed them had they taken one extra step. This setting is vivid and deeply felt thanks to excellent production design and cinematography that traps audiences in the feeling of constant bombardment.

Embedded in this dangerous and unknowable landscape is Rita (Saoirse Ronan), a factory worker who lives with her aging father (Paul Weller) and her young son George (Elliott Heffernan). Her son, whose Black father is no longer with them as a result of a vicious incident of violent racism years earlier, is everything to her. George is set to be sent away to the countryside along with many other children, where he will presumably be safe from harm. After lashing out at his mother at the station and then being mocked for the color of his skin on the train, George jumps off the train and begins a perilous journey back to the very place where he could meet his end at any moment.

This film is equal parts a historical chronicle and a tale of a mother’s love. The film is at its best when it transmits to audiences a feeling of being trapped as masses gather in shelters, or, towards the start of the film, demand to be let into an underground subway station being guarded by police because they have nowhere else to go. Yorick Le Saux’s cinematography plays a large part in the visceral experience of the film, as does the production design by Adam Stockhausen, which is highlighted in several underground scenes and one particularly haunting sequence set in a jazz club.  

Ronan is an extraordinary actress looking at potentially earning two Oscar nominations this year, for this film and for her leading turn in The Outrun, which would put her at a career six bids at just thirty years old. She’s a natural for this part, displaying a fierce protectiveness over her son and those she doesn’t know who she encounters in the middle of runs to shelters. In his debut role, Heffernan impresses, giving George a great deal of personality and resilience during his rollercoaster of a journey. Benjamin Clémentine and Leigh Gill stand out in the supporting cast as truly kindhearted souls who offer a burst of positivity during otherwise tragic times.

The scope of this film and its depiction of the very widely felt impact of the Blitz is certainly successful, and it’s hard to shake some of the film’s tenser and more long-lasting moments. George’s story takes a few less compelling detours, notably his run-in with a gang of criminals who profit off of the devastation and steal valuable possessions from dead bodies. That section of the film sometimes feels more like Wonka or Oliver! than a dramatic subplot in line with the tone of everything else. Overall, Blitz does strike an emotional chord thanks to its stirring visuals and transporting nature.

Movie Rating: 7/10

Awards Buzz: While director Steve McQueen was previously Oscar-nominated for helming Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave, he’s not likely to be in the conversation this time around. The film, on the other hand, could contend for the top prize, and expect to hear Ronan’s name as a possibility as well as mentions for cinematography, production design, and maybe costume design.