SMALL AXE: LOVERS ROCK

UK, 2020, 70 minutes, Colour.

Amarah Jae St Aubyn, Micheal Ward.

Directed by Steve McQueen.

This is the second in a series of short television films, this Small Acts, cowritten and directed by Steve Mc Queen (13 Years a Slave, Hunger).

The series focuses on the life of West Indian migrants to the United Kingdom and the next generations, focusing on stories of the 1980s, the communities in London, experiences of racism.

The short story takes place over one evening, introducing a range of young West Indian Londoners, especially to young women who enjoy singing together in their work at home, Martha (Amaro Jae St Aubyn) and her friend to go off to a party at a suburban home. The film also focuses on some men, an outsider who gatecrashes the party and disturbs it, but also Franklin and his friend who get close to Martha and her friend, the friends not succeeding in a relationship or is Martha enjoys dancing with Franklin (Micheal Ward), going out with him, a lift home, his being interrupted at his work by his white co-worker, the promised to see each other again.

The important thing about the film is the music. There is singing, there is dancing, there is exuberance, West Indian rhythms. They continue throughout the film and are a reminder of the popularity of the music and its influence on young people at the time, at a time when there were still somewhat segregated, enjoying life together, not yet able to mix with the white population.

Those who identify with the characters and the music have found this quite an exhilarating short story. Others, feeling themselves observers, have watched and listened with some detachment.