TV Obsessive
Steve McQueen’s Small Axe
Simon: Amidst this most tumultuous year, almost on the sly it seems, Steve McQueen is breaking down barriers and has produced what is shaping up to be simultaneously the TV and film event of the year. His series of five films called Small Axe is airing on prime time TV in the UK and Amazon Prime elsewhere; this in itself is staggering as it’s the first time an Oscar-winning director has made five films in one go and presented them in such a way. The first two instalments, Mangrove and Lovers Rock have both been selected for Cannes, making McQueen the first person to ever have two official selections in the same year.
He has dedicated both to George Floyd and they’ve arrived at the perfect time to show the experiences black people had in a different time and place. The former also opened the BFI London Film Festival and the latter has been selected for the New York Film Festival along with the third installment Red, White and Blue. Mangrove is the best film I’ve seen on the big screen this year and if the first two instalments are anything to go by, Small Axe will likely be the best series on the small screen. After it aired last week, there’s already been comments from many online as well as an MP that black history needs to have a more prominent place in education.
Compared to the politically-charged thriller Mangrove, Lovers Rock is a much lighter, more joyful film. It’s centred around a house party on Ladbroke Grove and shows what a night out for young black people in the early ‘80s was like. Due to heinous discrimination at clubs, they resorted to setting up big sound systems in homes and charging people on the door and for drinks inside. It’s a simple, quaint and effective solution. This meant they had a safe place they could escape to, let their hair down behind closed doors and joyfully embrace their heritage and culture through music. Everyone knows the words and sings along—the highlight for me is when they get excited and throw Bruce Lee-inspired shapes to Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting.”
As the night progresses, things suitably get more intense and primal, culminating in a wild, hypnotic, stomping dance-off to The Revolutionaries’ “Kunta Kinte” in a haze of smoke and sweat. I love the way the crowd fiercely insists that it be played again right away, just after it finishes. There’s drama off the dance floor as well, as there always is at such events. There’s strong words and scuffles, as well heavy petting on sofas in the garden and the unavoidable queue for the bathroom. Our leading lady Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) strikes up a quick romance with Franklyn (Michael Ward) and their ride home sharing one bike is as sweet as it sounds.
Having snuck back in through the same window she escaped her religious parents from the night before, she climbs into bed just in time to hear them call her to get ready for church. As she smiles in response, it encapsulates the joy of youthful rebellion in a single facial expression. On the surface, the film seems like a love letter to nightlife of the era, enjoyed with the right people, but there are also hints at the harsh racism of the outside world, as well as religion on the peripheries. McQueen based the story on the experiences of his aunty and this is one of the reasons that it feels so personal and intimate. His best quality as a director is how he’s able to capture the real feelings and emotions of the setting.
One of my heroes Brian Eno once said in a lecture that films are the best way for us to process the world around us. When you watch a film like Lovers Rock, that’s exactly what it feels like you’re doing. It’s a very simple but effective film that’s a perfect slice of life that would be hard to find elsewhere. Hearing Jamaican people or ones with such heritage speaking patois with their full accents is so refreshing. What also feels poignant, like it’s perspective on different culture, is that in this time of social-distancing, this film is also the best way to capture the experience of an all-night party. I’m very much looking forward to the third instalment Red, White and Blue, which stars John Boyega and airs next week.
Those are our recommendations this week! What are yours? Let us know in the comments! (And be sure to head over and check out what We’re Just Playing!)
