By Mark Fields
Harrowing Drama Set During London Blitz Showcases Saoirse Ronan’s Talent
Any casual reader of World War II history is aware of the broad brushstrokes of the London Blitz. For eight months in 1940 and ’41, German bombers dropped thousands of pounds of ordnance on the city of London in an attempt to destroy infrastructure and demoralize British citizens.
Although the Blitz has been subsequently hailed as a time of stoic British resilience and national unity, rarely has a film attempted to capture the harrowing devastation the bombing actually caused, both in terms of physical damage to the city and emotional damage to ordinary Londoners. That is until Blitz, a new drama written and directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) and starring Saoirse Ronan.
Blitz tells the story of Rita (Ronan), a single mother living with her child and father in wartime London. Rita is fiercely devoted to her 9-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan), but the nightly bombing raid finally convince her to put George on an evacuation train out of the city. George goes unwillingly, and at his first time, the enterprising if impetuous boy jumps off the train and starts to make his way back to her mother. The balance of the film depicts the various challenging experiences the two have as they try to reunite: responding to the unpredictability of the raids, waiting it out in underground shelters, coping with the damage and destruction.
The aftermath of these raids is powerfully illustrated through CGI effects of London bombed and burning, but it is also shown through the fearful yet determined faces of the people facing this onslaught.
Writer-director McQueen, who demonstrated his command of putting difficult subject matter on screen in 12 Years A Slave, keeps the drama palpable. Minor characters come and go in brief vignettes, but McQueen keeps his attention on Rita and George. Ronan, already a compelling film actress many times over, gives another potent performance here in Blitz. But the real focus of the movie is the drama of people facing the viciousness of war with the full range of human emotion: fear, hope, humor, steadfastness. A heart-wrenching triumph of spirit over adversity.
