Follow the stories of a group of Londoners during the events of the British capital bombing in World War II.
Pam says:
Steve McQueen writes and directs Saoirse Ronan in the WWII film “Blitz.” Taking place on a pivotal time in London, women are the workforce as men are off fighting for freedom. We meet Rita (Ronan), her son George (Elliott Heffernan) and Grandfather (Paul Weller) who seem a loving family, but the day has come that Rita must send George away to the countryside for his own safety. George lashes out at his mom and decides to create his own adventure, jumping off the train and making his way back to town only to meet some of the worst and best people. And it is here that the film derails and the storyline takes us down too many tracks and loses its direction and purpose.
The topic of WWII is and can be a complicated and layered one, but try as it might, “Blitz” just can’t dig down deep enough to provide that. Instead of peeling away layers to the story and the characters, we just spread it out too thinly and it becomes a slog through time. Characters are introduced at every possible point, but we never get a complete picture of any of them. Tilda, Agnes, and Doris, all co-workers with Rita at the bomb making factory are nothing more than background much like the soldier Jack (Harris Dickinson). There’s a promise of these characters adding to the story, but that promise is unfulfilled. And then we meet Ife (Benjamin Clementine) whose heart shines through the twinkle in his eyes, but again, that story is shelved. And thinking it can’t get any more dull, I was right. We enter into a 1970’s Disney film telling the tale of Oliver Twist or maybe the origin story for Willy Wonka as little George is captured by a group of scoundrels straight out of the School of Overacting.
“Blitz” is a depressing slog of a threadbare story that never gets itself up and running. Even the cinematography felt artificial as we were supposedly transported back in time.
1 Star
