Written and Directed by Steve McQueen
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan, Paul Weller, and Harris Dickinson

It isn’t often one attends a screening of a film set during WWII and expects it to be less downcast than events simultaneously occurring in real-life. With Blitz selected as the opening film of the 2024 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival in Melbourne coinciding with the first outcomes of the U.S Presidential Election, this WWII set drama found itself easily being the more digestible of the two.

Disappointingly though, most of Blitz is so darn boring, it rarely distracts to the level it is very capable of, irrespective of what it might be distracting from.

The core of the film is set in London during 1940 when the British capital is under heavy attack. Its most central characters are Rita (Saoirse Ronan), a single Mum to 9-year-old George (Elliott Heffernan), and Rita’s father whom she and her son live with, Gerald (Paul Weller). As London is becoming an increasingly dangerous city to reside, George is evacuated along with many other children. Blitz chronicles their lives while apart and the various threats that could keep them from ever reuniting.

Not too long ago, I saw another film that presented a less commonly captured story set during WWII in German drama From Hilde, With Love, although unlike the fictional Blitz, From Hilde, With Love is based on a true story. Despite that, Blitz had every chance of being equally refreshing to view.

Its most notable drawback is its unevenness, distinguishable via its tone, storytelling, and directing. Quite often, it appears Blitz is aiming to be war escapism film, especially when it focuses for longer on George’s plight. That is until it provides random and frequent stark reminders we are indeed watching a film set during a war. The setting during the same timeline constantly shifts back and forth to include some form of continuous story for Rita but struggles to make any of it really matter. The flashbacks to when Rita met George’s father matter a little more but unfortunately contribute towards its overall unevenness.

Any fans of Saoirse Ronan and Harris Dickinson coming to see Blitz are also bound to be disappointed. Saoirse Ronan is excellent as always without being outstanding but despite having top billing, Harris Dickinson fulfills a thankless role and is barely in Blitz. Viewers will instead walk away seeing an impressive debut performance from young Elliott Heffernan as George.

Perhaps if Blitz allowed its initial story to transpire without early onscreen text, remained in the same timeline more than it does, and actually gave Saoirse Ronan something more substantial she is easily capable of to work with, then we might have had a film whose purpose is both identifiable and achieved.

Blitz is showing in selected cinemas across Australia as part of the 2024 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival from the 6th of November – 8th of December.

Moviedoc thanks Palace, the Russell Hobbs British Film Festival, and Miranda Brown Publicity for the invitation to the opening night screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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