Saoirse Ronan, young co-star Elliot Heffernan, Stephen Graham, and Benjamin Clementine, the stars of Steve McQueen‘s new film Blitz, along with the writer and director, met the press in London Wednesday mid-day for a press conference ahead of the drama’s evening world premiere that will open the 68th edition of the BFI London Film Festival (LFF).
The movie follows 9-year-old George (Heffernan) in wartime London after his mother Rita (Ronan) sends him as an evacuee to safety in the English countryside. Defiant and determined to get back home on his own to his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, George encounters real danger as a distraught Rita tries to find her footloose son.
What was it like to play a woman in war? “I’m sure [it was] incredibly trying for these young women” who stepped into jobs and roles previously filled by men who had to go to war, Ronan said. “So much was expected of them.” But she and the other actresses also realized how the war changed the role of women. “We know how pivotal that moment was for us” and how pivotal a role women played, she said. McQueen added that many war films have simply shown women handing someone a cup of tea.
But there was no way to switch off from the war on set or in preparing for the war drama’s release given the wars in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza? And Ronan said that unlike with other projects, she couldn’t get away from dealing with war as after work on set she would be confronted with the current wars on the news. “There wasn’t really an escape,” she said. “You’d put on the news and see exactly the same thing.”
Added the actress: “The thing that made this so real as a filming experience as well is that you shoot certain scenes where there’s total chaos and pandemonium, and we’re having to portray characters in abject fear and horror, and then you would leave set, and you turn on the radio, and you’d hear exactly the same thing, and you’d put on the news, and you’d see exactly the same thing. So it was the first time I’d ever had an experience on a project where there wasn’t really an escape from it.”
Added Ronan: “I don’t know if it’s sensitive to say that I was grateful for it, but I think it gave you so much motivation to continue on with the picture. Again, I hate to say ‘relevant,’ but it does feel incredibly relevant, because … this is just the secular nature of humanity.”
McQueen added: “I feel there is an urgency to the film.”
How did Ronan approach playing a mother after slipping into the role of daughters before? “I sort of approached it like any other character. As much as I was so curious and inquisitive about the mothers around me and asked them about their experience,” it was about finding a natural dynamic and relationship with Heffernan. “That turned out to be a friendship,” she said. “It all felt very organic. Nothing felt too contrived.”
Ronan also explained that on-screen portrayals of motherhood can at times seem inauthentic and forced. Instead, she was looking for a natural approach, adding that she also wanted to pay tribute to her mother and other great women with her portrayal.
The actress further shared that the cast agreed that their goal was “achieving truth at all times.” McQueen echoed that saying, “I care about the truth.”
However, the writer-director didn’t set out to correct any other portrayals of war on the screen. “I am not a reactionary. I am an artist,” he said. Sharing that love is a key theme of the movie, he said that he believes that humans can avoid and stop wars if love prevails.
Meanwhile, Clementine shared that his Nigerian-born character Ife is based on a real person. “This film did a great job in letting us see war through the perspective of a child,” the actor said. “I saw my own son and I wondered if I were in a war situation where I would have to defend and protect my child, what I would have done.” That made the acting experience very personal, he said.
McQueen also sees a personal responsibility to portray and stand up to war. “I am clearing the path for my children and everybody’s children” to ensure a better future, he said.
Blitz is McQueen’s third LFF opening film and will be released in the U.S. and U.K. on Nov. 1 before becoming available to stream on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22.
The cast and director were questioned in London at lunch time on Wednesday by TV and radio personality Francine Stock.
Heffernan drew applause and described his excitement about taking on a challenging role, describing work on a scene in a flooded subway tunnel as “really fun.”
Discussing the young actor, McQueen was full of praise, at one point saying: “He is a small genius.” And he did all his stunts except for one. “There is no ego, there is no bravado,” he said. “It’s a hard slog that the boy is doing. And he is willing to learn.”
And Ronan shared that “it’s such a well-oiled machine most of the time,” but working with young actors reminds everyone on a set why they do this. “It re-sparks something in you.”