Blitz ★★½

The impact of World War II on Europe’s great cities is at the forefront of Steve McQueen’s latest two directorial efforts, the sprawling documentary Occupied City and the Saoirse Ronan-led Blitz. The latter is set in London during the Blitz, an eight month period in which Nazi Germany routinely bombed England’s industrial centers, port cities, and towns. Millions of homes were destroyed and tens of thousands of civilians were killed. The nightly bombings were so severe that children were evacuated out of London. Rita (Saoirse Ronan) has made the hard decision that her son George (Elliott Heffernan) should be evacuated for his safety. This evacuation sets into motion a journey for George who wishes to be reunited with his mother and escapes from a moving train to begin his way back to London.

George’s experiences during his journey cannot be described as anything other than bleak. Friends or helpers are challenging to come by, both due to racism experienced by George as mixed-race and for the cruelty exhibited by those who seek to rob and loot from the damage of the bombings. Just as George finds a kind man who he can trust, Ife (Benjamin Clementine), his time with Ife comes to an end in a cruel twist of fate. Like George, Ife is Black and George recognizes the kindness and wisdom demonstrated as Ife deescalates conflict between agitated civilians as a policeman. Ife is able to resolve conflict due to his ability to convey that the Londoners need to be unified and that they are experiencing the same crisis regardless of their skin color or personal differences. Ife as a character is a direct contrast to the opportunistic looters, who seek to abuse and benefit from the chaos.

Ife tells George that his name means “love” in Nigerian and Ife’s pride in his heritage and exhibition of grace provides George with the perspective that he can be proud of, and not ashamed of, being Black. George is shown to have never met his father who was arrested and deported from England and though Rita and her father are caring parents, George is reluctant to think of himself as Black and experiences persistent racism directed at him.

In Blitz, the threat of the bombs is always tangible though warfare is not shown. When falling bombs are shown in between scenes and cut away from before impact, this imagery provokes the question of where the bombs are going to land. When they inevitably make impact, the aftermath is macabre. By focusing on the experiences of civilians in crisis and in showing helplessness, Blitz carries an anti-war message. Blitz attempts to provide political commentary as well when drawing comparisons between the 1940s and the present day; however, these comparisons are underdeveloped. In comparison to other war films, Blitz struggles to build to a grandiose conclusion or commentary, but nonetheless is compelling for George’s resolve to be reunited with his mother. Heffernan is exceptional as George and this film should catapult Heffernan to further roles. Oftentimes child actors are paired across professional actors in their films, whereas in Blitz Heffernan has to independently perform in a number of scenes due to George’s separation from Rita and this is no small feat.

Through great danger, the outcome of George’s journey is never certain nor is the fate of his mother through the bombings. Blitz ultimately builds to a resolution that is comforting at first glance but as the camera zooms out, it reveals a bleaker undertone providing a fitting last touch to its anti-war message.