Exceptionally, it only took two weeks for those who missed the return to theaters of this Oscar-winning director to discover his new film on a streaming platform. And it's worth the detour.
He is one of the most acclaimed directors of his generation: it has been 16 years since Steve McQueen became an essential director. In 2008, he established himself in his first feature film as a talented storyteller of the biggest flaws in History with the film Hunger. A raw and inventive form to tell the story of the hunger strike of Bobby Sands, legendary member of the IRA, during his detention in Northern Ireland and a film immediately rewarded at the Cannes festival. But it was in 2013 that it really exploded with the unanimous success of Twelve Years a Slavewhich won him the Oscar for best film. Steve McQueen now returns with Blitza drama set in World War II England. After a quick trip to the cinema during an event weekend in early November, Blitz arrives on Apple TV+ this Friday, November 22.
Blitz on Apple TV+: a moving dive into England in the 1940s
From the start of the film, Steve McQueen sets the scene: in 1940, England lives to the rhythm of the aerial bombardments inflicted on it by Nazi Germany. Every night, residents have to find refuge in shelters or in the metro. A period historically referred to as “The Blitz”. We quickly become interested in Rita (Saoirse Ronan), a single mother who lives with her young mixed-race son, George (Elliott Heffernan), and his father (Paul Weller). Forced to evacuate her son to the countryside with all the other children in the city, she then puts him on a train supposed to take him to safety. But stubborn George doesn't see it that way and jumps off the bandwagon. The film then consists of a labyrinthine treasure hunt for the little boy to find his way home in the bombed city. From there began a succession of founding encounters, sometimes inspiring, sometimes traumatic. As a little scout for this devastated London, Elliott Heffernan reveals astonishing maturity and sensitivity for an actor of his age. He brilliantly takes the lead opposite Saoirse Ronan, impeccable (as always). Other talented performances litter his way, with a direction of actors which allows each chapter to contrast with the previous one. The musician Benjamin Clementine is infinitely touching as a unifying soldier. As much as Stephen Graham (Venom) is scary as a bipolar corpse looter.
Blitz : a few flashes of genius in the middle of a classic achievement
If Steve McQueen is widely known for his committed staging and his creativity, Blitz is a rather classic vintage. Although the quality of the writing of the characters gives all its emotion to the story, the feature film is filmed in a fairly linear and traditional way, without much surprise for a period fiction. The beauty of the costumes is also worth highlighting. But in the midst of this classicism, Steve McQueen still reserves some nice surprises. The sound work is exceptional, alternating deafening moments and suspensions in absolute silence with a masterful hand, making the anxiety rise with the power of hearing alone. If, overall, all the markers of the period film are there, the director also plays with the codes of the genre film. Some scenes come close to horrific anguish, notably a sequence of walking in the underground of the metro, then flooding, which will have put our nerves to the test. A few images with strong metaphors also find their place amid the din. A surprisingly classic production for McQueen therefore, but which remains at the top of the basket of films produced for streaming platforms.
