{"id":163988,"date":"2020-12-10T10:21:19","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=163988"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:25:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T18:25:24","slug":"loneliness-and-lovers-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=163988","title":{"rendered":"Loneliness and Lovers Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nShaniqua Okwok and Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn in Steve McQueen’s “Lovers Rock”<\/i><\/p>\n

\nSteve McQueen’s Lovers Rock<\/i>, part of his Small Axe anthology (5 films depicting the life of West Indians in London) is a dreamy swoon of a movie. I’m not a huge Steve McQueen fan, but I am really digging what he’s doing with this series. Lovers Rock<\/i>, for me, is the standout. I am in love with it. I point you to my friend Odie’s wonderful review over on Ebert<\/a>. And here’s a great interview with McQueen about the movie<\/a>, and the music in the movie. <\/p>\n

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\nI loved this one small sequence: Barry Bigg’s “Lonely Girl” is put on the turntable by the DJ in the corner, and the crowd goes into a trance of connection. There’s a sequence of shots showing men grasping women’s elbows, bringing them onto the dance floor, then women\u2019s hands on their dance partners\u2019 shoulders, or men\u2019s hands on their dance partners\u2019 waist\/butt. It’s a gentle little montage of touch and mutual desire, which ends with the shot of Cynthia (Ellis George) – who has been so determined to have fun on her birthday – yet little things keep coming along and ruining it. <\/p>\n

And so that little montage of hands and bodies – as I read it anyway – turns out to be from her POV, because that\u2019s what it feels like when you\u2019re at a party and everyone is dancing with someone except for you and\/or that the person you want you can\u2019t have. Everywhere you look people are connecting and touching … and you don\u2019t get to participate. It\u2019s so beautifully done. No explicit underlining, but every single shot and how it’s all put together represent very specific visual choices. A narrative of desire and disappointment.<\/p>\n

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\nHere’s the trailer. Lovers Rock<\/i> is in my Top 10 for the year. It’s on Amazon.<\/p>\n