Blitz (2024)
5.438 /10
80 Reviews
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In World War II London, nine-year-old George is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita, to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on an epic, perilous journey back home as Rita searches for him.
Videos & Photos
cast
... George
... Rita
... Jack
... Ife
... Beryl
User reviews
Steve McQueen's _Blitz_ is an incredibly watchable and engaging film that vividly portrays wartime London. Through his lens, McQueen challenges the commonly held notion that Londoners weathered the horrors of the Blitz with unwavering cheer, a stiff upper lip, and unity. Instead, _Blitz_ underscores the complex layers of a city already defined by its diversity, which McQueen portrays as teeming with cultural resilience. In particular, the East End, a refuge for those escaping persecution, is shown not merely as a site of suffering but as a resilient, multicultural community that speaks to the true character of wartime London. This challenge to the rose-tinted "keep calm and carry on" narrative is essential, grounding the film in a more inclusive historical reality.
However, _Blitz_ occasionally struggles under the weight of its grandeur. The film ambitiously tackles numerous stories and subplots, making it challenging to give each the attention it deserves. One subplot that particularly suffers is the portrayal of an Underground station flooding after a bomb hit—a moment famously depicted in _Atonement_, with the actual location in Balham. Relocating it to London Bridge heightens the fictionalization of the event. Many may leave the cinema, believing the event that caused the death of 68 people never happened as such McQueen's portrayal, though compelling, doesn't capture the same impact as _Atonement_, which coincidentally also starred Saoirse Ronan.
McQueen briefly gestures toward class disparities in air-raid conditions, notably by referencing the Stepney Communist Party, which pushed for equitable access to safe shelters. Yet one pivotal moment that could have underscored this tension—the Party's dramatic occupation of the Savoy Hotel to protest the gross inequality in shelter conditions—goes unmentioned. This action, poor East Enders storming the grand West End hotel, forced the government's hand to open Tube stations to be used as public shelters.
Despite these narrative oversights, _Blitz _remains a remarkable and impactful portrayal of London during its most challenging times. It offers a raw, multifaceted perspective that reshapes our understanding of wartime endurance and unity, making the audience feel the gravity of the historical events depicted.
Director:
Writer:
Steve McQueen (Screenplay)
Release Date:
2024-11-01
Run Time:
120 min
MMPA Rating:
PG-13
Reviews of
Blitz
Steve McQueen's _Blitz_ is an incredibly watchable and engaging film that vividly portrays wartime London. Through his lens, McQueen challenges the commonly held notion that Londoners weathered the horrors of the Blitz with unwavering cheer, a stiff upper lip, and unity. Instead, _Blitz_ underscores the complex layers of a city already defined by its diversity, which McQueen portrays as teeming with cultural resilience. In particular, the East End, a refuge for those escaping persecution, is shown not merely as a site of suffering but as a resilient, multicultural community that speaks to the true character of wartime London. This challenge to the rose-tinted "keep calm and carry on" narrative is essential, grounding the film in a more inclusive historical reality.
However, _Blitz_ occasionally struggles under the weight of its grandeur. The film ambitiously tackles numerous stories and subplots, making it challenging to give each the attention it deserves. One subplot that particularly suffers is the portrayal of an Underground station flooding after a bomb hit—a moment famously depicted in _Atonement_, with the actual location in Balham. Relocating it to London Bridge heightens the fictionalization of the event. Many may leave the cinema, believing the event that caused the death of 68 people never happened as such McQueen's portrayal, though compelling, doesn't capture the same impact as _Atonement_, which coincidentally also starred Saoirse Ronan.
McQueen briefly gestures toward class disparities in air-raid conditions, notably by referencing the Stepney Communist Party, which pushed for equitable access to safe shelters. Yet one pivotal moment that could have underscored this tension—the Party's dramatic occupation of the Savoy Hotel to protest the gross inequality in shelter conditions—goes unmentioned. This action, poor East Enders storming the grand West End hotel, forced the government's hand to open Tube stations to be used as public shelters.
Despite these narrative oversights, _Blitz _remains a remarkable and impactful portrayal of London during its most challenging times. It offers a raw, multifaceted perspective that reshapes our understanding of wartime endurance and unity, making the audience feel the gravity of the historical events depicted.
With the Nazi bombs raining down around them, single mum "Rita" (Saoirse Ronan) has to take the difficult decision to evacuate her son "George" (Elliott Heffernan) from the London home they share with her father (Paul Weller). He isn't keen and so jumps from the moving train and tries to make it back home through a city populated by some kindly people and some Dickensian-style villains - and he encounters them both. Meantime, his mum is told of his absconding and as she tries to hold down he job in a munitions factory she must try to track him down. I thought Heffernan delivered really quite engagingly here, as did the rather menacing Kathy Burke with her brief appearances, but the film has a curious sterility to it. We know it's set amidst the random brutality of war, and the narration points out to us that that didn't all come from the skies above with racial prejudice never far from the surface, but it never looks or feels real. Clearly, Apple threw some money at it but the characters are all just too undercooked and there's an inevitability to the story that seems more about convenience than authenticity as it neuters the visceral humanity of the story. That last element isn't helped by a Ronan who seems very much to be going through the motions turning in an adequate enough performance but not one that wasn't being turned in on studio-based television dramas thirty years ago. Dickinson barely features and though it's all perfectly watchable, it's not really very memorable save for a young actor who gives us a knee-high view of man's venality and inhumanity.
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://talkingfilms.net/blitz-review-beautifully-crafted-emotionally-hollow/
"Blitz is technically competent and offers isolated moments of genuine emotion, but it falls short in character development and thematic exploration.
Steve McQueen delivers a visually engaging film with a promising central performance by Elliott Heffernan but struggles to escape the cliches of WWII survival narratives.
While it doesn't entirely disappoint, it lacks the emotional depth and originality needed to stand out in an already saturated genre."
Rating: C+
Cast & Crew of
Blitz
Cast
... George
... Rita
... Jack
... Ife
... Beryl
... Gerald
... Albert
... Michael Davies
... Jess
... Marcus
... Victor Smythe
... Clive
... Tilda
... Doris
... Agnes
... Harvey
... Sarah
... Cathy
... Eric
... Frank
... Ian
... Tommy
... Archie
... Arthur
... Mandeep Singh
... Air Raid Warden
... Isaac
... Sid
... Mavis
... Ruby
... Fred
... Street Cricket Player
... The Oracle
... Police Inspector
... Station Inspector
... Underground Shelter Crowd
... Underground Shelter Crowd
... Underground Shelter Crowd
... BBC Producer
... Train Steward
... Boy on Train
... Boy on Train
... Luggage Rack Boy
... Girl on Train
... Street Cricket Player
... Street Cricket Players
... BBC Presenter
... Fireman Campbell
... Fireman Davies
... Factory Protester
... Factory Protester
... Factory Protester
... Young Girl in Field
... Locker Room Woman
... Locker Room Woman
... Policeman at Dancehall
... Policeman at Dancehall
... Woman Bus Conductor
... Policeman at Hamleys
... Sailor in Bar
... Sailor in Bar
... Man at Front Door
... Government Shelter Warden
... Government Shelter Warden
... Brenda Watson
... Timothy Ashdown
... Lavender Merchant
... Lavender Merchant
... Bakery Shop Owner
... News Vendor
... Air Raid Warden
... Lost Property Registrar
... Jobsworth Official
... Market Vendor
... Gigolo
... Middle Aged Woman
... Sous Chef
... Engaged Girlfriend
... Engaged Dinner Companion
... Engaged Dinner Companion
... Agitated Man
... London Bridge Woman
... London Bridge Woman
... Ticket Inspector, London Bridge
... Man, London Bridge
... Stepney Dream Group
... Dream Lead Singer
... BBC Radio Producer
... Volunteer
... Nurse (uncredited)
... Pub Punter (uncredited)
... Billiard Punter (uncredited)
... Passerby (uncredited)
... Police Warden (uncredited)
... Munitions factory manager (uncredited)
... Train Inspector (uncredited)
... ARP Warden with Cat
... Community Hall member
Crew
... Producer
... Producer
... Producer
... Director
... Producer
... Screenplay
... Production Design
... Producer
... Stunt Coordinator
... Producer
... Producer
... Stunt Double
... Director of Photography
... Casting
... Original Music Composer
... Stunts
... Producer
... ADR Mixer
... Stunts
... Stunts
... Production Sound Mixer
... Foley Mixer
... Set Decoration
... Costume Design
... Foley Artist
... Editor
... Art Direction
... Assistant Art Director
... Foley Editor
... ADR Recordist
... First Assistant Sound Editor
... Supervising Sound Editor
... Sound Re-Recording Mixer
... ADR Mixer
... Supervising Sound Editor
... Sound Re-Recording Mixer
... Sound Effects Editor
... ADR Mixer
... ADR Recordist
... Boom Operator
... Sound Effects Editor
... Foley Supervisor
... Sound Effects Editor
... ADR Recordist
... Title Designer
... Art Direction
... Supervising Art Director
... Art Direction
... Art Direction
... Art Direction
... Art Direction
... Art Direction
... Set Dresser
... Set Dresser
... Set Dresser
... Assistant Art Director
... Set Dresser
... Set Dresser
... Set Dresser
... Assistant Art Director
... Associate Producer
... Line Producer
... Executive Producer
... Executive Producer
... Executive Producer
... Executive Producer
... Visual Effects Supervisor
... Stunts
... "A" Camera Operator
... Drone Cinematographer
... Focus Puller
... First Assistant Director
... Second Assistant Director
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