‘Blitz’ review: WWII drama is salvaged by stunning visuals and tender performances

Steve McQueen’s Blitz opens with a blast: a water hose meant to put out a conflagration malfunctions because of excessive pressure, jerking about like an anaconda on drugs.

London during the Blitz – the nearly nine-month-long aerial bombardment by Germany during World War II – is similarly struggling to maintain control. Bombs rain down from the sky every night, forcing people out of their homes and into shelters. Looters are on the prowl, rudely plucking valuables from still-warm corpses. Children are being separated from their families and sent into the countryside. A nine-year-old boy disagrees with this government policy.

George (Elliott Heffernan) wants to be back home with his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan), grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) and pet cat Olly. But George loses his way, instead stumbling into corners of London that might never have revealed itself to him except for the war.

At a shopping arcade filled with imperialist tableaux, or through an encounter with a black policeman, the biracial boy witnesses racism at work as well as in check. George sees both the zenith of humanity and its nadir, represented by Stephen Graham in a chilling cameo as a criminal.

Meanwhile, George’s mother is on her own path to self-discovery. Initially unaware of George’s disappearance, Rita...

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