BLITZ
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clémentine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, Elliott Heffernan, Sally Messham, Erin Kellyman, and Hayley Squires
Director: Steve McQueen
KATIE
With emotional family drama, gripping action, and incredible special effects that are breathtaking in their sheer scale, Blitz captures the devastating destruction of war and the ways that it united and divided people and communities. Director Steve McQueen highlights the efforts and impact of those that history and cinema have previously ignored, specifically women and people of colour, neither of which have been represented fairly, if at all. The cast is also very strong, particularly a captivating Saoirse Ronan, as well as an incredible acting debut from the young Elliott Heffernan, who is our emotional lifeline throughout the film.
ADRIANO
I never hoped I'd have to talk about the latest film from one of my favourite directors like this, but I despised Blitz. It's solidly well-made from a production standpoint, but nowhere near the level of what we're used to from director Steve McQueen. The cinematography has that gross WWII grain, and I couldn't connect to anything, as hard as McQueen tried. The mother-son story was underdeveloped, and the film's protagonist (Elliott Heffernan) felt like nothing more than a capsule to go from one useless plot point to the next. Just one big bag of empty Oscar bait.
AMARÚ
I couldn’t tell you what exactly, but Blitz is missing… something. It’s fine, but I couldn’t fully connect to it like most movies with this subject matter and these performances. Maybe that’s it. It’s an amalgamation of a lot of other World War II movies I’ve seen before. Even with the always impeccable Saoirse Ronan and a great debut from Elliott Heffernan, I could see the next scene coming. And even when I couldn’t, I asked why did that even happen. Director Steve McQueen doesn’t know how to make a bad film, but this one shows he doesn’t always hit.
PAIGE
Steve McQueen’s Blitz may stand tall with its eye-catching visuals and stunning performances, particularly from Saoirse Ronan and Elliott Heffernan, but it falls flat on its face with its subpar narrative and underdeveloped themes. In addition, its editing and pacing are all over the place, occasionally feeling as if you're watching two clashing films lacking concentration on what it wants to convey. While the movie has some poignance, too many of its components don’t at all mesh well together.
PRESTON
Writer and director Steve McQueen has a hard time focusing on the story he is trying to tell in Blitz. It opens with expectations about the hardships that the English people face during the Nazi bombings at home, and with the associated evacuations. Then, he can’t help but introduce a competing, simultaneous narrative about racism. While important, the resulting unfocused plot detracts from the attention that both messages deserve. Incidentally, the scoring is, at times, oddly inappropriate for what is called for in the moment. It’s close, but the sometimes-tedious film is just too tepid to earn the additional half reel.
This film was reviewed by Katie as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.