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
Chuck says:
Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” seemingly has all the elements in place to deliver a moving tale of survival during a time of great social upheaval. Set in London during World War II, its production design is meticulously rendered, features two solid lead performances as well as numerous memorable supporting turns and has a story that should be gripping from the first frame to the last.
Yet, it’s a curiously inert piece of work, a movie that defies expectations as well as its own DNA as it proves to be a dull, uninvolving film that taxes your patience rather than tug at your heartstrings.
As the German bombings increase in frequency, Rita (Saoirse Ronan) is forced to do something she’s been dreading. Fearing for her son George’s (Elliott Heffernan) safety, she reluctantly turns him over to a government agency that will transport him to the rural part of the country. There he will stay with a foster family until the war is over. Resentful, the boy will not speak to his mother as she takes him to station, only breaking his silence to say that he hates her.
Afraid but determined, the boy jumps off the train after nearly a day’s journey, setting out to return to London. So begins a Dickensian journey in which George meets a wide variety of characters – some kind, others frightful – as he attempts to be reunited with his mother. Among others, he encounters a trio of brothers who are also on the lam, a kindly police officer (Benjamin Clementine) and a group of scavengers led by a bloke (Stephen Graham) who makes Fagin look like a choirboy.
George’s journey is intercut with scenes of Rita grieving and worrying, as well as flashbacks in which we learn how she met her husband and why he is no longer in the picture. There is also the suggestion she’s involved in protests regarding the government taking further steps to keep its citizens safe.
This cutting back and forth prevents George’s story from building any momentum and keeps the viewer at arm’s length as well. Equally troubling is McQueen’s script, which is made up of half-developed ideas and characters. Because of this, we’re never allowed to learn enough about the people George encounters to become invested in them. The film moves in fits and starts, giving us the beginnings of great subplots, only to abandon them before they are fully formed. This plagues Rita’s storyline as well, a suggestion there’s dissension brewing among the women she works with at the munitions plant, never allowed to get off the ground.
Though he does a fine job, Heffernan is a bit of a cypher. He remains stone-faced throughout and while this stoic bearing is in keeping with George’s sense of fear and anger, it rarely varies. There simply aren’t enough moments in which we connect with the actor or the character, despite the increasingly dire situations he finds himself in. Meanwhile, Ronan reminds us why she is one of the dynamic performers of her generation, invested in every moment, always engaging. She also gets the opportunity to show she has a fine singing voice as well.
Because of the film’s erratic pacing and McQueen’s inability to draw more out of his young actor, what should have been a heart-rending, tear-inducing climax lands with a thud. Instead of being moved, “Blitz” winds up being a handsome misfire, a movie that fails to fully flesh out its characters, so that we might become engaged in their respective plights.
2 Stars
