Review: Provocatively, ‘Blitz’ evokes England’s finest hour to take on fascism at home

The Nazis’ relentless aerial bombing of London during World War II tore up the city at the same time it brought its people together — physically, out of necessity, in shelters and retreats, but also psychologically and spiritually, as a motivation to show wartime resolve. Today we know it as England’s “keep calm and carry on” mind-set, within which director John Boorman memorably found domestic comedy for his 1987 film about that time, “Hope and Glory.” But in fellow Brit Steve McQueen’s muscular, sincere “Blitz,” his latest reckoning with the heartbeat of historical incident, life under the threat of annihilation pulsates a little more strongly than that beloved phrase would suggest. But when things don’t work out, as when George falls in with a band of bomb-site scavengers led by a scary Stephen Graham and Kathy Burke, “Blitz” can feel faux-Dickensian. Movies Why Saoirse Ronan’s moment is right now Saoirse Ronan, already a four-time Oscar nominee at 30, crashes through a new ceiling with career-high performances in “The Outrun” and the WWII drama “Blitz.” Sure, every insight along the way feels predetermined, even as the young star’s greatest strength lies in how his watchful eyes often betray little. Time will tell if “Blitz” becomes a new perennial for U.K. families in the mood for band-together nostalgia and a more inclusive, unvarnished view of the country’s racist past.