Directed by Steve McQueen
Written by Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons, and Courttia Newland
Starring John Boyega, Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Kedar Williams-Stirling, and Antonia Thomas

by Jaime Davis, The Fixer

“The system rigged, it’s rotten.” - Mangrove
“We might’ve won the battle, Frank, but we still have the war.” - Mangrove
”But I’ve got no time, to live this lie. No, I’ve got no time to play your silly games.” - Lovers Rock
”Big change - that is a slow turning wheel.” - Red, White and Blue

I adore Steve McQueen for the beautiful manner in which he tackles issues of race and injustice head on - 12 Years a Slave, Hunger, and Widows all approach slavery, political justice, and systemic racism in widely unique ways. McQueen does things in his movies that film students will be studying in 10 or 20 years, if they’re not already. The driving tracking shot in Widows? The scene in Hunger where the camera doesn’t move for 17 whole minutes? Yeah, he did that. And there are similar moments of brilliance in his forthcoming Small Axe series, coming to Amazon in the US later this fall. Three of the five episodes, Mangrove, Lovers Rock, and Red, White and Blue recently premiered at the New York Film Festival - I use “episodes” lightly because two of these three are feature length. This time around, McQueen brings us into the heart of the profound joys and deep struggles of West Indian Londoners in the 60s, 70s and 80s, deftly weaving critical moments in the fight against institutional racism with romance, strength of community, and good times. With everything happening in the US right now, the continuing fight for racial equality for BIPOC alongside a fight for the very democracy our country was founded on, Small Axe feels like just what we need right now - something else provoking us to sit up, take notice and fight. It’s clear not much has changed in the past fifty years, in the US and abroad.

McQueen brings us seamlessly into these time periods - it’s hard to believe, in the cases of Mangrove and Lovers Rock specifically, that we’re not watching period pieces. Color plays a major role in each - Lovers Rock is lovingly draped in jewel tones while Mangrove reflects the oranges, browns, yellows, and greens of the 60s and 70s. Red, White and Blue is, as you would expect, red, white and blue with a little green thrown in for good measure. Visually, Small Axe is exciting to behold with straight up knockout performances by John Boyega (Red, White and Blue), Letitia Wright (Mangrove), Shaun Parkes (Mangrove) and more.

Without a doubt, my favorite aspect of the series is the use of music to wend viewers through the deep ups and downs, joys and pains in each story. Music supervisors Ed Bailie and Abi Leland, I applaud you. And want to be your apprentice. Hire me? I’ll work for free! Instead of just reviewing each film separately, I thought it better to get people excited for Small Axe through its music. I’ve made a Spotify playlist of all the songs I could catch, which you can listen to here or below.

And here are my favorite music moments from each installment.

Lovers Rock

“Silly Games” by Janet Kay

By far the marquee moment of this film, and a scene I haven’t stopped thinking about in weeks, McQueen manages to use one of the most commercially successful of the Lovers Rock tracks to create a serious mood on film. Probably one of the best dance scenes in a film I’ve ever seen? And perhaps one of my favorite uses of dance to convey a myriad of emotions and feelings on film.

“Have a Little Faith” by Nicky Thomas

At the end of Lovers Rock, our heroine Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) manages to make it home in the early morning hours after a night out with a potential new love. A cross watchfully adorns her walls as her mother calls out, “Get up, time for church.” Nicky Thomas’s lyrics are a play on her religious faith but also, more significantly, the blissful promise of a new relationship.

Mangrove

Original score by Mica Levi

Holy shit this score. This score! I’m no good at describing music to people, so let me just say this: it’s gorgeous. And tense. Bizarre at times. Like off-kilter? But beautifully simple. It shows itself most prominently during much of the courtroom drama, adding to your stress as you await the outcome. Levi also did the score to Under the Skin, another crazy good one, as well as the orchestration for Jackie, which I also heard is very interesting (from my lovely wife, MJ’s Ashley Jane).

“Pressure Drop” by Toots and The Maytals

By the end of Mangrove, we’ve watched Frank Crichlow and his restaurant, the Mangrove in Notting Hill, constantly targeted and harassed by law enforcement over a period of decades. While he’s had some success in the courts regarding his blatant racial targeting and mistreatment, a title card before the credits informs us he was harassed for a total of 18 years, stood trial three times, and acquitted all three. This information washes over as Toots and The Maytals “Pressure Drop” plays us out. “Pressure Drop” was released in 1970 and became a big hit outside of Jamaica, introducing many new audiences to reggae for the first time. The song is about karmic justice - at its most basic level, the lyrics predict that those who do bad against the innocent will have a storm coming to them one day. Quite a fitting message to end the episode with.

Red, White and Blue

“Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel

This is a bit of a weird choice, I know, but if you look at the music featured in Red, White and Blue and all three of these particular Small Axe entries, “Uptown Girl” sticks wayyyy the hell out. And I think that’s the point. It’s so off-putting when it shows up - playing outside a chip stand before a horrific beating of our main character’s father at the hands of white police. The song, with it’s upbeat, white shell reminiscent of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is a perfect contrast to McQueen’s illustration of brutality against black people by white establishment. (And I rewatched the video recently and why are the only people of color playing a limo driver and vagrant breakdancing teens? And and before you yell at me, I love Billy Joel, but come on…this song is not one of his best. I fully expect hate comments for this).

“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”, “For the Good Times,” and “Tired of Being Alone” - Al Green

Three Al Green songs support the film’s beginning, middle, and end to great effect, but my favorite use is “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” In this installment, John Boyega plays real-life Leroy Logan, a forensic scientist called to join the Metropolitan Police Service as a police officer in early 80s London. With racial tensions high between white law enforcement and black citizens, and after his own father is assaulted and arrested at the hands of the MPS, Logan joined in the hopes of reforming the force from the inside out. As a result, many of his family and friends sharply questioned his choice, even causing a major rift between him and his father. “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” plays as Logan leaves his wife and family behind for six weeks of academy training - it lovingly shows Logan’s pain as he’s torn between what he feels is his duty and the honor he holds for his family. While I’ve mostly seen this song used to depict romantic heartbreak, it works so nicely for the conundrum Logan finds himself in and, as a viewer, you feel so much for him - not least of which is worry. What awaits him on the other side of the police academy?

Make sure to watch Small Axe when episode 1, Mangrove, airs November 20th on Amazon.