Small Axe: Red, White and Blue movie review (2020)
McQueen provides no answers here. This is a not a coddling film. It’s an angry one, a tricky meditation that forces you to put yourself in the shoes of someone you might actually consider a traitor or a fool. Boyega, who is fantastic, wears the burden of Leroy’s loneliness very well, and you feel his desire for an ally, a friend or, most notably, a running buddy who looks like him. There’s a scene early in the film where, upon arriving at the training dorms, he hears Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” blasting from another dorm room. Knowing he’s supposed to be the only Black man in training, Leroy assumes he’s mistaken. You can feel Boyega’s mind racing with this thought. Watch his body language when Greg (Liam Garrigan), a White man answers the door. Even though the two become friends, there’s a hint of disappointment in Leroy’s realization that this integration battle will be fought alone.
Speaking of soul singers like Gaye, Al Green is all over this film’s soundtrack, leading us away from the other films’ use of reggae and lovers rock. The right Reverend’s love songs are used in clever ways, none of which are predictable. “Red, White and Blue” uses Green’s cover of “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” as memorably as “Lovers Rock” used “Silly Games,” and the film ends with his incredible cover of “For the Good Times.” There are also some 80’s tunes by Imagination and other groups, which place this film’s setting in the early 80’s. Even Billy Joel’s ode to Christie Brinkley, “Uptown Girl” shows up in a scene that will make you forget any happy feelings you may have unfortunately had for that song.
“Big change, it is a slow turning wheel,” Kenneth tells his son in the closing scene, before the two toast “to something good.” Technically, this is the last line in “Small Axe,” a choice that I couldn’t stop ruminating on after seeing 60% of the series. I am sure I’ll return to my thoughts after seeing the other two installments. For the characters in “Red, White and Blue,” those words have some hope, as they have no idea that the situations they wanted to impact haven’t really changed much today. The system may be more integrated, but it’s still just as corrupt and destructive as Leroy found it. The wheel of change is slow, but I guess there’s a small comfort in knowing it’s still turning.
This review was filed in conjunction with the New York Film Festival premiere on October 4th. It is now available on Amazon Prime.
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