'Small Axe: Lovers Rock' Review: Anthology's second film is a celebration of Black music culture in '80s UK
With Steve McQueen's (director of '12 Years a Slave') film anthology series coming to Amazon's Prime Video, viewers have been exposed to many facets of Black British culture -- specifically that of the Windrush generation. Spanning three decades, beginning with Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech, the anthology series is set in London’s West Indian community and each film is released weekly. The first release from the anthology is 'Mangrove' and tells the story of the Mangrove Nine, who clashed with London police in 1970. The second film in the anthology available this week, 'Lovers Rock' is unlike the other films in the anthology in that it is not based on true events. It is, however, rooted in reality with respect to the Blues house party and the reggae music featured in the film.
Set in 1980, 'Lovers Rock' centers on two young people, Martha (Amarah-Jae St Aubyn) and Franklyn (Michael Ward), who first cross paths at a house party set to a soundtrack of tunes from the romantic Lovers Rock genre of reggae. While the characters of Martha and Franklyn are fictional, the Blues house party at which they meet was inspired by many such events that were frequently held during that period.
Because Black people were not allowed to frequent nightclubs as the White British folk, they would host house parties, where the house owners would clear their rooms of furniture, bring in a sound system, often home-made speakers and bring in a crew who would play music. The crew included a DJ who would speak to the crowd and the Selector, the one who would choose the music. Word would get around the neighborhood and people could attend if they paid an entrance fee.
'Lovers Rock' is inspired heavily by the experiences of the writers themselves. McQueen told Radio Times that his co-writer on Lovers Rock, Courttia Newland, had memories of the legendary parties from his early years that helped craft the screenplay. “Courttia’s mother used to have parties at his house, so he remembered a lot of that stuff as a child. I came to it through my aunt,” he said. McQueen himself relied on his aunt's stories, on whom Martha is based, of having to sneak out to attend the parties.
That it comes from personal stories shows in 'Lovers Rock'. Much of 'Lovers Rock' are sequences of the partygoers enjoying being at the house party, dancing, and mingling. There is an extended scene where all the partygoers break into song and sing Janet Kelly's 'Silly Games'. As such, watching 'Lovers Rock' is a sensual experience and one that would lead you to build a reggae playlist on Spotify.
After years of being underrepresented on the screen, McQueen's anthology is but a small step in rectifying that. With authentic settings and stories, 'Small Axe' continues to excel, showing us that Steve McQueen is perhaps one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation.
'Small Axe: Lovers Rock' is available on Prime Video on Friday, November 27.