An insightful historical drama detailing the horrors of the infamous bombings, Blitz is a well-made and faithful portrait of a country managing crisis and the many civilians banding together to endure the unrest. Steve McQueen’s craft of replicating wartime London filled with expansive production sets of streets and underground stations grants a large scope to the film and with its large cast of characters depicting the many different people and communities within the city, the film feels inhabited and lived-in. The recurrent shots of the bombs falling from the sky was so striking and accompanied with the tense music encapsulated the fear and terror of the civilians so vividly on screen
and was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.
Saoirse Ronan’s performance as Rita was stellar in her depiction as a mother putting her best foot forward and taking care of her elder father and young son. So many scenes reflect how powerful a performer she is and manages to get most out of her scenes often elevating the subpar writing given to create a likeable and well-rounded character, from the tender and emotional scenes caring for her child and his safety to her quick-witted repartee with her work colleagues, Ronan further cements herself as an actress who is great in everything.
Portraying the United Kingdom as a multi-cultural nation aided by the power of its colonies was a refreshing perspective and important in framing how often wars throughout the 20thcentury relied on many citizens from its commonwealth countries. The film critiques colonialism through its perspective of George, Rita’s mixed-race child, by identifying with his perspective throughout much of the film’s runtime and looking at the racist attitudes and assumptions often placed on people of colour. A particular scene of George wandering through a store filled with colonial imagery and propaganda supporting the British empire’s ideals was very effective in portraying the aforementioned point.
Despite various great aspects which elevate the film, it is conventional to a fault and never strays far from a typical WWII drama. From its story structure focusing on the dual narrative between George’s journey back home to Rita’s aid in the war effort, to the various historical events touched on, there’s no experimental flourishes here and it’s relatively safe but that needn’t be a negative aspect. A strong feeling tells me this will be shown in many classrooms when studying the time period and will be hailed among teachers as a great teaching tool.
BFF LFF #3
and was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.
Portraying the United Kingdom as a multi-cultural nation aided by the power of its colonies was a refreshing perspective and important in framing how often wars throughout the 20thcentury relied on many citizens from its commonwealth countries. The film critiques colonialism through its perspective of George, Rita’s mixed-race child, by identifying with his perspective throughout much of the film’s runtime and looking at the racist attitudes and assumptions often placed on people of colour. A particular scene of George wandering through a store filled with colonial imagery and propaganda supporting the British empire’s ideals was very effective in portraying the aforementioned point.
Despite various great aspects which elevate the film, it is conventional to a fault and never strays far from a typical WWII drama. From its story structure focusing on the dual narrative between George’s journey back home to Rita’s aid in the war effort, to the various historical events touched on, there’s no experimental flourishes here and it’s relatively safe but that needn’t be a negative aspect. A strong feeling tells me this will be shown in many classrooms when studying the time period and will be hailed among teachers as a great teaching tool.
BFF LFF #3
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