User Reviews

Steve McQueen's passion project had been oscillating listlessly in development for nearly a decade before it all finally came together. Five standalone films of varying lengths, collated together into what may or may not be a mini-series depending on your definition of these things. McQueen is not unsung by any means but these stories most certainly are - as a British person our history lessons at school start with castles, end with World War 2 and are extremely light on detail.

Both Mangrove & Red, White and Blue are just functional - quite linear and without adequate framing in the case of the latter but are alive with exceptional performances. In fact, every one of these is flawlessly cast and bristle with energy and character. My favourite by quite some way is "Lovers Rock" a near real-time slice of life at a party that is so evocative and so absorbing I was completely swept away by it. In these viral times it managed to distill the essence and manic energy of a wild house party and made me feel deep longing for that catharsis of it all. Both Wheatle and Education benefit from their shorter run times and are both deeply charismatic and touching. Throughout there is a real attention paid to costume, music, setting and it's done in such a magnificently textured and organic way you do feel like you're looking into the past.

It's been said that as of this year there is a new re-assessment of what is taught and in the surprisingly light closer "Education" I think there's somewhat of a meta recognition of this as well as through Robbie Gee's magnetic Simeon in Alex Wheatle. The past is the key to understanding the present, and a vital weapon in the arsenal of fighting for a better future. Small Axe has hopefully been seen by many and opened eyes. Britain really is this messy patchwork of mistakes and hardships, of awkward compromises and terrible injustices. However these impassioned creators coalesced here too, so there's some heart and hope in the wheezing lion yet.

This series of films are revealing regarding the history within Britain of a particular community, namely the West Indian one in the 60s and 70s. The concentration on detail is totally absorbing, bringing known aspects to life as well as less well known details that make this history real rather than simply a vague awareness of the hardships and discrimination that were suffered.

As well as the hardships, the films bring out the vibrancy and uniqueness of that community so also has a positive message, as well as an educational one.

I thought Mangrove was particularly powerful, both being depressing and uplifting at the same time! Also, the final one, based on education, was incredibly raw and insightful with brilliant acting. The others were also part of a masterful sketch, highlighting aspects of life and attitudes, warts and all, within that community at that time.

I was bowled over and feel I am now more in touch with important recent history in our country. Not only that, but more informed regarding the background of the current community.

Thoroughly recommended.

Steve McQueen's most famous work is perhaps 'Twelve Years a Slave', which I found a rather ordinary maintstream movie distinguished only by itsubject matter. His other films, however, are generally outstanding, and with 'Small Axe', he has crafted a heatfelt, emotional and compelling series of stories about the black experience in Britain. He's good at the set piece scences such as court cases, but above all else, he's brilliant at conveying the psychology of lives lived in an environment of systematic racism. As a white Briton, I might wish that these stories weren't true, or that they could be wholly consigned to the past; but it's important that they're told, and they provide some perspective on the 'Black Lives Matter' movement and why it animated so many in the UK even though we don't have the same level of police killings as there are in the US. But even judged as pure drama, this is excellent stuff.

Small Axe gives a long overdue glimpse into the Black West Indian experience and civil rights transformation in the UK. The overt injustice and micro aggressions faced by black immigrants and their first generation children are very relevant to the racial dynamics that persist today. I felt proud to hear and see our stories portrayed and hope more story tellers continue to make films like these. To know where we are going we must know where we come from. Small Axe should be shown in schools and discussed.

When I got to the ending of "Education" I wanted to give a hug to this collection of films... Feels like everything McQueen had done before (Oscars and all) was for the greater purpose of making these films as good as they turned out. Bravo!

Being white, this feels a bit weird for me to be critiquing. I've mentioned this before, in my review of Da 5 Bloods like a million years ago, but then I remembered that I'm British and so it's magically okay.

But for real, it is interesting seeing my own country being targeted, a) because it's almost always America taking most of the criticism on that front, when my country is almost as bad, and b) because I don't like my country and would happily pay to see most current government officials kicked out of Parliament. And I mean literally kicked. Preferably in the balls.

Anyway, it's a series by Steve McQueen. Awesome, except for the fact that the only one of his films I've seen is Widows, and that's probably his worst, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. What you should expect is five episodes about the black experience, specifically in England during the 60s-80s and mostly based on true stories.

You can go read my reviews of each individual episode if you want specifics, but Mangrove is about the trial of the Mangrove Nine, the first trial to prove and use police discrimination as evidence, and is basically a better version of The Trial Of The Chicago 7 and my personal favourite of the series, Lovers Rock I found really boring and would have been significantly improved by cutting maybe an entire half of it out, Red, White And Blue is a great character study even if it ends pretty abruptly, Alex Wheatle is fine, but it feels a little flat and pointless compared to the rest of the series, and Education is a nice hopeful little offering about the next generation to leave off on.

It's weird how I think the first two could have been improved by cutting some stuff out, and the last three could have been improved by adding quite a bit more, but in broad strokes, this series has amazing performances throughout, absolutely brilliant directing and cinematography, interesting characters, and tells some stories that feel like they need to be told right now.

I'd argue if there's one single problem every episode of this shares to some degree, it's the pacing, and whether or not stuff should have been cut out or added in, but if you have been even the slightest bit affected by the racial justice movements of this last year, then you owe it to yourself to watch this.

And if you'd consider yourself as having not been affected by them at all, then you can probably leave. Just in general.

Few early movies for people who like this title would be "Pressure (1976)" and "Babylon (1980)". Its a bit of a time machine, will transport alot of Londoners back in time.

"Small Axe" is an emotional roller coaster that brings the audience to difficult times, when racism was frightening and black people did not have any rights, limited in their ghettos. All this with the consensus of the authorities that committed abuses of power. A time of social frictions and protests from the Jamaican immigrants in UK that were just requesting equality. Steve McQueen told stories of cultural clashes, rage and disappointments, but also of serenity within the black community, of personal growth and acceptance.

Most of the episodes are beautiful, the different plots are well written, the acting is absolutely on point. My favorites were "Mangrove" and "Red, White and Blue". The first episode deserves a standing ovation. In its two hours, it explains in a detailed way the story of the Nine of Mangrove that led the protest of Notting Hill in the 70's. This was a response to the random unauthorized and unlawful frequent police searches in a local restaurant. I think that the director reported the facts without really taking any side, which is commendable. The third movie tells about a young man named Leroy Logan that truly wants to change the crooked police system from the inside out, by becoming a constable. It is a different kind of protest, maybe more thought out, but also way more difficult to handle because it requires more time and patience. This episode really made me uneasy because everything is seen from the perspective of Logan, who has to deal with tons of unethical and shameful situations in a professional environment. You can understand his frustration, and you root for him, hoping to get one day his personal victory. "Alex Wheatle" and "Education" are pieces of fine cinema, but did not really impress me. The quality is there, but the story did not really get me that much. "Lovers Rock" is an experiment: the plot is minimal, almost non-existent. There are fewer characters compared to the other episodes. Creators played a lot with music, strange sounds and peculiar shots, but to me it was very boring and pointless. As this is an anthology, I would simply skip this one and focus on the remaining four.

Steve McQueen delights us with his close-ups and amazing photography, reminding us that this is first of all a show about normal and real people that suffered and made tons of sacrifices, in order to fight until the end for what they considered right. The cast was very professional: I loved the Jamaican accent which in my perspective was well made by all the actors. Overall, this Steve McQueen project for me was mostly a success, that encountered a few minor issues along the way, but definitely worth my time.

The acting is immensely powerful and absolutely superb! Well worth a watch in my opinion.

Don't bother. Awful dialogue and the acting is particularly hammy and unbelievable.

I've always wanted to learn about the history of black people in the U. K. and particularly in London.

But boy, was I in for a surprise.

The directorship, cinematography, scripts, otherworldly classes of supreme art. So much depth, and intimacy, direct confrontation, painfully felt antagonistic views, pockets of genuine gentleness amidst grasping chaos . . . What a series.

Incredible. Loved every second of it, will be rewatching soon.

The most unique achievement from a filmmaker in recentimes. Steven Mcqueen has released five films(directed by him) over consecutive weeks last year concerning the struggles of the co-existence of the West-Indian community in London over a certain period of time.

All of the five films deals with a same theme but the treatment is different for every one of them. Each film has a unique story to tell and Mcqueen has done an incredible job in directing them with equal precision and importance.

A tale of police brutality,a tale of biased school system,alienation within own society,a story full of vibrance and life;Small Axe is nothing short of a spectacular achievement.

Absolute amazing - I was at church with Leroy Logan yesterday, the person on whom Red, White, and Blue is based. Seeing John Boyega playing this amazing man was incredible, especially when hearing what it was like from a first person perspective. John Boyega portrayed him incredibly, and it was so important to hear how much this role had had an effect on him as a young black British man.

As someone who is just about gen-Z, I know that I have prejudices toward the police due to their racist history, but to see this man join the police force in an extremely racist time in its history, and seeing what effects he had, especially on the metropolitan police, made me realise that there have always been people fighting from the inside.

Such an inspiration person, with such a powerful ministry. I'm so glad that I got to watch this acted out.

It's not without its faults, but I know that Leroy's time in the police service wasn't without its faults. This is such important British history to learn.

The character is boring, too perfect and uninteresting. I can't believe someone thought it would make a good movie. It's like we are not supposed to care for him. You wait and wait and wait for something to happen but no, nothing. It's filed with clichés and the subject is overdone. And what's with the food thing? It's not the actors who are the problem but the poor dialogue that they are given to work with. They all look like caricatures of real persons. The real problem is that they are no rhythm to this movie. The cuts are too obvious, The only good thing is that it's short so I didn't lose too much time watching it.