Saoirse Ronan and Elliot Heffernan in a scene from ‘Blitz’ Photo Credit: Apple TV

steve mcqueen’s the Blitz What arrives as a strange confluence of contradictions – a World War II epic that both adheres to the conventions of its genre and subverts them. The Oscar-winning filmmaker infuses his pen with nostalgia, and delivers bitter realism across the page. The resulting tension breaks with promise but struggles to stay on the line.

the Blitz Taking aim at vital themes such as race, resilience and survival amid the ashen debris of 1940s London, oscillating between panoramic vistas and tightly-wound intimacy. While the ambition is undeniable, the film seems to fall short somewhere in its execution, leaving its lofty aspirations gasping in smoke-filled ruins.

The story focuses on nine-year-old George (newcomer Elliot Heffernan), a biracial boy whose mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), reluctantly puts him on a train carrying children from the city to the safety of the countryside. However, George refuses to leave the world he knows. Before the train can reach its destination, he jumps, determined to find his way back to London and be reunited with his mother. from there, the Blitz What unfolds as a Dickensian odyssey – in which George encounters a revolving cast of characters ranging from compassionate protectors to outright villains – presented with McQueen’s typical visual rigor, but tied to a narrative Which often seems uninspiring.

Saoirse Ronan in a scene from ‘Blitz’ Photo Credit: Apple TV

As George, Heffernan shines with a bright innocence, his childish innocence running headlong into the wreckage of war-torn England. This tension is perhaps most evident in George’s encounters with a ragtag band of thieves led by Stephen Graham’s Albert, a cartoonish Fagin figure teetering on the edge of caricature.

George’s journey is interspersed with scenes of Rita’s parallel struggles, as Ronan infuses his character with gentle perseverance, overcoming the drudgery of factory work. Rita is the Achilles’ heel of the film. In one standout scene, she performs a ballad for a live BBC broadcast – co-written by McQueen and composer Nicholas Britell – a moment that aches with the bittersweet shades of longing and the film’s soul. While life-or-death stakes fuel George’s arc, Rita’s story feels like little more than a quiet simmer, often relegating her to beautifully rendered but narratively isolated vignettes.

the Blitz The uneven balance between these two narratives falters. As a result of this unevenness, the emotional momentum in the film’s patchwork rhythm is weakened by McQueen’s love of digression—which is one of his strengths. small ax A compilation, but a gamble that doesn’t pay off here.

Steve McQueen has long mastered the alchemy of turning sweeping historical tides into something that feels painfully personal – grand narratives distilled into the pulse of a single human moment. the Blitz Tries to follow him, but his compass wobbles. Some moments are filled with urgency. Others, however, rely too heavily on contrivance, as if McQueen’s screenplay doesn’t fully trust us to understand its themes without a guide.

Stephen Graham and Elliot Heffernan in a scene from ‘Blitz’ Photo Credit: Apple TV

Where? the Blitz Success lies in refusing to whitewash history. McQueen challenged the sanitized myth of wartime solidarity, exposing the cracks beneath the “keep calm and carry on” cover. In one of the film’s most affecting scenes, George finds solace with Ife (an impassioned Benjamin Clementine), an immigrant whose quiet wisdom offers some comfort in the chaos around them. From racist goons on the evacuation train to casual abuse on the way, the Blitz It paints a picture of a nation grappling with its own prejudices even as it faces an external enemy. In these moments, the film feels most alive, its criticism pointed and necessary.

and yet, the Blitz Never fully united. McQueen appears torn between his supernatural instincts and the heavy expectations of an Oscar-winning war drama. His attempts to criticize nostalgia while basking in the glow of nostalgia create friction that the film never quite resolves. Whether this tension feels like a bold vision or an untenable premise depends largely on what you bring to the table as a McQueen devotee. It’s far from his most sophisticated effort, but it still pulses with the urgency and humanism that define his oeuvre.

Blitz is currently streaming on Apple TV+