Yahoo Movies Blitz hailed one of the best war films ever after London Film Festival premiere
Steve McQueen, Saoirse Ronan and the cast stepped out on Wednesday to open the prestigious festival
Blitz is Steve McQueen's highly-anticipated return to the director's chair and it seems it was worth the wait because critics have heaped the war drama with effusive praise after it premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.
Set during its titular wartime event, the film centres on George (Elliot Heffernan) who is evacuated to the countryside by his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) but decides to jump off the train and return home. During his mission to get back to her he meets an array of quirky characters —both good and bad— who help create a unique take on Britain in a time of war.
The director and cast stepped out in all their glamour on Wednesday 9 October to open the prestigious festival, with Ronan dazzling in a sleek white dress alongside McQueen, Heffernan, and Harris Dickinson.
The film is a heartfelt war drama that is quiet yet impactful because of the way it explores the idea of the "Blitz spirit" through a more diverse London, making viewers compare the period to modern day in a way only a director like McQueen is capable of. And critics certainly felt this was the case when they shared their reviews shortly after the premiere.
The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey was effusive in her praise of the production, saying it "feels new and revelatory purely because it’s being viewed through the eyes of its singular director". Loughrey wrote that Blitz is "expressionist yet rarely sentimental, disquieting in its terrors yet tender in its hope, and profoundly interested in the ordinary lives of others."
Read more: Is Saoirse Ronan finally about to win her first Oscar?
The critic commended Heffernan for his standout performance, and wrote that Ronan "shows the same dynamism" in her role as Rita. It was McQueen's unique vision that appealed most: "It’s what he sees and how he sees it, as one of Britain’s most extraordinary filmmakers, that makes Blitz feel monumental."
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin described Blitz as one of the best war films ever made, saying it is "a thrilling, moving, morally provoking odyssey through Britain at war".
Feeling similarly to Loughrey, Collin wrote of the film's young star: "Heffernan, an 11-year-old newcomer, gives a wonderful performance that’s by turns clear and enigmatic." And added: "McQueen’s film is big-picture British cinema, of a scale and depth which hasn’t been seen since Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk."
For the Evening Standard's Nick Curtis, Heffernan delivered a "strikingly assured debut performance" which anchored the film. The critic said: "Heffernan is a real find, a solemn and level-eyed performer who invests our diminutive hero with pluck, hurt and a boyish zest for life."
Curtis also went on to reflect on how McQueen approached the subject by adding: "This isn’t a polemic, more a gentle corrective to a dominant, partial narrative, told through the eyes of the irrepressible George and his distraught mother."
The critic felt it wasn't "McQueen’s finest film" but still felt like a compelling war drama regardless.
Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell argued the same thing, writing: "The episodic nature of the plot holds Blitz back from being McQueen's best movie, but you'll still be fully invested. With a talented supporting cast including Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke and Erin Kellyman, the movie is always engaging and capable of making you laugh in one scene before stunning you to silence the next."
Sandwell also praised Ronan, who has been tipped for an Oscar for her Blitz performance already, writing: "It helps when you've got Saoirse Ronan delivering yet another strong performance (including a breathtaking musical performance, as there's nothing she can't do). If anything though, she might be outshone by the charismatic Elliot Heffernan, who's excellent in his debut role."
Blitz will be released in cinemas from Friday, 1 November and will be available to stream on Apple TV+ at a later date.
