Love and Soulful Reggae are at the heart of Lovers Rock
by Murtada Efadl
Three minutes into Lovers Rock I was smiling, snapping my fingers to the music as I watched rituals of prepping for a house party. People were moving furniture away to make space for dancing, cooking in a tiny kitchen, trying on dresses and makeup.There was even a DJ rehearsing. All rhyming and dancing to the music as they did their chores. An infectious and palpable sense of joy coming from the screen.
Lovers Rock which debuts as the opening night film of the New York Film Festival, is part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology. The series comprises five original films set among London’s West Indian community in the 1970s and 1980s and inspired by stories remembered by McQueen and his family.
Co-written by novelist and playwright Courttia Newland this 70 minute film plays like an old song you've always enjoyed coming on the playlist, and the memories and delight that flood you as you start unconsciously moving your body. I couldn’t help myself when Carl Douglas’ Kung Fu Fighting came on and I broke into a sit down dance on my couch. Everyone watching will have their own moment of nostalgia and cheer linked to whatever song they recognize as the film - and the party it follows - unfolds.
The story is framed as one special Saturday night in the life of Martha (newcomer Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) as she climbs down the window of her house evading her family, and joins a friend to go to this house party. There she dances, flirts with a handsome stranger (Michael Ward), holds off an aggressive cousin (Kedar Williams-Stirling) and even saves another woman from assault, all in time to return unnoticed to her bed before Sunday church. The narrative is expansive taking in the passions of all the characters that gather in that house party in early 80s London. The camera goes from one dancer to another as the men and women perform pick up rituals with their eyes, hands, elbows and bodies. We follow their sensual dancing as their bodies ebb and flow into the frame, no words needed except those of the songs in the soundtrack. Distinctly a McQueen film with its long intense takes and shots that dissolve into one another. Though somewhat of a swerve for him into joie de vivre as these extended dance sequences show the euphoria and camaraderie of life, of people coming together.
All of that culminates in two outstanding singalong sequences, as these people pour out their passions, disillusionment and dreams into dancing; proclaiming that they are alive. In this year of isolation, everyone will feel a discernible sense of longing to gatherings, to connection.
The threat of the white man oppression is never far. We hear police sirens in the distance while minor characters interrupt the proceedings. Like a boss man who appears out of nowhere as our two lovers are having a quiet interlude. Or when a group of wankers catcall Martha outside the house party. I suspect there will be more of this as other episodes of the anthology unfold.
St. Aubyn and Ward have an easy chemistry and charisma selling the sexual charge and fervent stirrings felt by their characters. Also fantastic is Ellis George as another party goer who starts out as one of those people who cannot enjoy themselves at parties. Then her story arc takes an unexpected turn allowing George to show a more vulnerable side. There’s a warmth in color, contrast and reflection to both Shabier Kirchner’s cinematography and Jacqueline Durran’s costume design which add to the alluring impact of the film.
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Author Bio: Murtada Elfadl is a culture writer, critic, and podcaster. Originally from Khartoum, Sudan he decided to move to New York City when he got a New Yorker subscription at the age of 15. Many years later, the city remains his favorite place; he just wishes more movies in Arabic played here. He is a member of the selection committee for NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ Film Festival. His writing has been published at The Film Experience, The Film Stage and Mediaversity Reviews. He hosts the Sundays With Cate podcast.