"Lovers Rock" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening night of The 58^th New York Film Festival, I streamed the World Premiere of director Steve McQueen’s latest, “Lovers Rock”.

Synopsis

A glimpse into life of West Indian culture in London of the 1980’s.

Story

Excitement is in the air for the young West Indian people of London.  On this Saturday night, word of a house party has been circulating.  The crowd gathers to dance, to show off their new outfits and – with any luck – maybe even find a little romance.  Everyone shows up dressed to impress – if not, you won’t get passed the imposing bouncer at the front door.  With this crowd’s wardrobe, it’s going to be quite the challenge to get the attention of that special someone if you arrived alone and seeking out your next lover.  But a little thing like that won’t put a damper on this evening.

Needless to say, the dancers match the music the DJ’s play on this evening:  some are slow and sensual, others are quite energetic.  The highlights include the classic “Kung-Fu Fighting” and then everyone participates in a sing-along with “Silly Games”.  This will be a night of many memories for all attendees – not necessarily all of which may be pleasant, however.  Some of the men come on a bit too strong for the women there and pretty much ruin their opportunity for the night. But when Franklyn (Micheal Ward) presents himself as a gentleman, Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) finds him appealing. 

By now, however, it’s getting quite late.  Before too long, Saturday night morphs into Sunday morning.  In a few hours, it’ll be time for many of these folks to go to church with their family.  But will they be in any shape to do so without much (if any) sleep?  With all of the sensuous undulations and dirty dancing that has occurred over the past few hours, this isn’t even a thought that most would entertain at this point.  Franklyn and Martha leave the party together.  While everyone else is prolonging their party, the sun is starting to rise.  Has this been a one-night fling or will this couple have a future together?  

Review

“Lovers Rock” is part of McQueen’s anthology called “Small Axe”, which he has dedicated to the late George Floyd.  “Small Axe” consists a several stories that spans decades; “Lovers Rock” is one of three from the anthology that are appearing at this year’s film festival.  It’s short – barely over an hour long – but its brevity does not belie its emotiveness.  If you are a fan of reggae style music from that era, this will be a fun watch.  Where it staggers a bit is when trying to understand the characters.  The accents are so thick that it is at times difficult to make out what they are saying; occasionally, it seems like they are speaking patois. 

As a short story that takes place over the course of a night at a West London house party, it is episodic and character-driven rather than plot driven.  Observational in nature, the audience is drawn in by the film’s mood and atmosphere and to a lesser extent, the characters; since “Lovers Rock” (which takes its name from a style of music) is only an hour in length, we don’t get to spend too much time with any one character.  Basically, this is a buffet where you get many small bites which on some level may be satisfying, but never quite filling.  If it was the filmmakers’ goal to leave the audience wanting more, then they have succeeded.    

One note about the experience of streaming this movie.  As someone who has spent many nights over the years attending screenings at The New York Film Festival, this was a weird night in an extremely strange year.  Very often, opening night of the festival has something of an electrical energy; when you are streaming the motion picture through Lincoln Center’s Virtual Cinema, that electricity is noticeably missing – especially when you’re watching the film on your couch while you’re wearing your robe.  It’s not uncommon for the festival’s opening night screening to be picked to set the tone of the coming weeks; as upbeat as “Lovers Rock” may be, none of us can be blamed for feeling a bit off-balance throughout the remainder of the festival.     

Film at Lincoln Center Podcast · #284 - Steve McQueen on Lovers Rock