Saoirse Ronan is on a mission to find her son in trailer for Steve McQueen's Blitz
People always seem to be running away from explosions in historical dramas—especially World War II epics—and Steve McQueen's Blitz is no exception. The film's first trailer is full of it. Saoirse Ronan's character Rita sends her nine-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan) away to hopeful safety when the bombs of Germany's infamous Blitzkrieg begin to fall on London. Later, she must chase him down herself when she's told he didn't arrive at his intended destination. Sometimes they're dancing or screaming from train beds, but people are always moving in the clip shared today by Apple TV+.
When he's sent away, George doesn't find a wardrobe or magical land like his fellow evacuees in Narnia. (We'll see frequent Ronan collaborator Greta Gerwig's take on the era soon.) Instead, he embarks on a dangerous journey to return home to his mother and grandfather (Paul Weller), putting him in "immense peril" in the process. This doesn't mean the journey is totally devoid of magic, however. In an interview with Deadline, McQueen called Blitz a "very dark" fairy tale. It's "the Brothers Grimm. And that’s the journey that George goes on."
Blitz is also "a movie about Londoners," the director shared when it was announced that the film would open the London Film Festival. "It honors the spirit of what and how Londoners endured during the blitz, but also explores the true representation of people in London, while at its core is the story of a working-class family desperate to be reunited during times of war."
The film boasts a suitably epic score from Hans Zimmer (who previously worked with McQueen on 12 Years A Slave) and stars Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, and Sally Messham.
Blitz will debut in select theaters November 1, before streaming on Apple TV+ November 22.