Small Axe (2020) anthology

We really liked this powerful series, based on true events (1969-1982) in London's West Indian community, showing their colorful lives going on until racism rears its ugly head. Director/co-writer Steve McQueen, a 1969-born Londoner of West Indian heritage, has been working on the project for ten years, and finally turned it into five feature films, totaling nearly six hours, which we streamed on Amazon Prime on three different days.

It's racking up nominations and awards, mostly in film, although imdb.com and the Independent Feature Project call it a TV mini-series. It'll be interesting to see what the Academy decides. Here is further discussion on that topic from Variety.

Mica Levi is credited as composer for the first three, but I remember only the songs, mostly reggae, natch, including Bob Marley's 1973 song from the proverb: If you are the big tree, we are the small axe. Someone created a Spotify playlist but I haven't cross-referenced it with the imdb lists below.

The acting (see below) and cinematography (Shabier Kirchner) perfectly complement the stirring stories.

Mangrove, at 2:07, is the longest and is based on the 1971 trial of the Mangrove Nine (wikipedia) which followed a riot of residents vs. police in 1970. The cast includes Shaun Parkes as the Mangrove restaurant owner Frank Crichlow, Letitia Wright as the leader of the British Black Panthers, Alex Jennings as the white judge, and many more. Alastair Siddons co-wrote the script with McQueen. Here's a list of the songs. We watched this one on its own.

Lovers Rock comes next, at 1:10, and takes place during one night before and during a house party in the 1980s. Technically a romance, it veers wildly between the joy of the party-planners and -goers to the systemic racism they must endure, and stars Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Micheal Ward, among others. There's a scene of exuberant dancing that wasn't that long in the script, but McQueen let the camera run and kept it in the final cut because the cast had such a good time. Courttia Newland is the co-writer, and the songs are listed here. We made this into a double feature with the following.

Red, White and Blue, 1:20 long, is based on the life story of an actual man named Leroy Logan (born 1957), who, as a child, witnessed police assaulting his father and, as an adult, contemplates quitting his lab work to effect change in the police force. John Boyega and Steve Toussaint shine as the adult Leroy and his father Ken. Watch to find out what happened to Logan in real life. Newland co-wrote this script as well. This song list is also on imdb.

Alex Wheatle began our third viewing session. At 1:06, it's another biopic (the real Wheatle was born in 1963), jumping back and forth in time from his prison term to his wretched childhood to his time as a DJ to the 1981 Brixton uprising. Sheyi Cole is amazing as Wheatle, even when he doesn't say anything. As above, see the movie to find out how his life turned out. My regular readers know that we watch (at home and otherwise when possible) with closed captions for the hearing impaired. Due to the strong dialects, captions are absolutely essential for us white boomers and, even then, I was not completely sure what every phrase meant. McQueen offered the real Wheatle a crack at the script, but was refused, so Siddons co-wrote it. The song list is on imdb and no one is credited with the score.

Education wraps up the anthology. It's 1:03 long and is a fictionalized account of British-West Indian children's relegation to so-called "special" schools in the 1970s. Like the others, it's maddening, but this one offers real hope for change. Kenyah Sandy is terrific as 12-year-old Kingsley, who cannot read. McQueen himself is dyslexic and was not educated properly so this is personal. Siddons is, again, the co-writer here. Like in Lovers Rock, there's an extended musical sequence, but unlike the former, this one is painfully awkward and Jack and I laughed out loud at it. The song list on imdb is woefully short, and, once again, there's no composer credited.

McQueen was last blogged for Widows, Levi for Marjorie Prime, Wright for Black Panther, Jennings for Denial before playing the Duke of Windsor in The Crown, and Boyega for Detroit. All the rest are new to me, though I want to tell you that Cole, making his feature debut, was still in acting school when he was cast and Sandy had already played Simba in the London West End production of The Lion King.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics' average is a big 97%, but its audiences' averages are chopping it down, with Mangrove at 82%, Lovers Rock at 73,  Red. White and Blue at 71, Alex Wheatle at 30 (what??), and Education at 74. They're just wrong. All are worth a few hours of your time.