McQueen & Country

A moment of national pride and terror comes to the screen with World War Two historical drama Blitz. Total Film speaks to writer/director Steve McQueen and his stars Saoirse Ronan and Stephen Graham about uncovering the truth and celebrating the triumph of a defining moment in modern British history.

- LEILA LATIF

Stephen Graham, one of the stars of Steve McQueen's Blitz, is speaking to Total Film when he suddenly pauses mid-sentence. He seems in a slight state of disbelief as he describes working with the film's acclaimed writer/director. 'I don't use this word often... but he's a genius. I feel I'm in the presence of genius.'

TF knows precisely what Graham means. During our conversation to discuss all things Blitz, the 12 Years a Slave director joyously speaks a mile a minute, recalling details of each shot's composition, cross-referencing moments from his astonishing oeuvre, and talking passionately about his inspirations. In the last two years alone, the quietly prolific McQueen has put out a four-and-a-half-hour documentary about Amsterdam's history of Nazi occupation in Occupied City, artworks about his father's deathbed and the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and now Blitz, hotly tipped for award-season glory. But when awards are mentioned, he's quick to wave it off. 'That's the accolades, that's the bullshit. That's a by-product. It's about the work, the work, THE WORK in all capitals.'

McQueen's latest film is new territory for the director. Not only is it backed by the streaming service Apple TV+ (though he insists, 'I made Blitz for the cinema'), he also has a host of new collaborators on the project, including Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Paul Weller and many below-the-line creatives. Ronan plays Rita, a worker in a munitions factory who sends her mixed-raced son George (Elliott Heffernan, in a charming and sensitive debut) to be evacuated to the countryside while German planes are besieging London in September of 1940. George escapes the train and makes his way back, but along the way, he is terrorised by falling bombs, trapped in collapsing shelters and encounters a criminal gang led by Albert (Graham).