‘Red, White and Blue’ review; Dir. Steve McQueen (2020) [NYFF]

For the third and final entry into the Small Axe anthology (which premiered at this year’s New York Film Festival), Steve McQueen retells the true story of Leroy Logan and the struggles he faced when he joined the London Metropolitan Police Force to try and spur change for his local African-American community.

Set in 1983, John Boyega plays Logan: a research scientist that abandons his career after his father (Steve Toussaint) is the victim of police brutality. He’s tired of how the system treats the Black community and decides to change it from the inside out. However, this choice is met with a cold reception by not only the other officers on the force who give Logan the cold shoulder but the community he swore to protect who see him as “a coconut” and a sellout. As he starts to feel pressure from the job and from his family, Logan has to decide whether to stick with the police or give it up.

Boyega has recently made headlines in the press for a slew of reasons, including standing with the Black community during the BLM protests earlier. In that sense, Red, White and Blue feels like the natural next step in his career. This is a character that gives Boyega something to sink his teeth into and the urgency of Newland’s script here – and the whole Small Axe anthology, for that matter – couldn’t be more relevant today as she tackles the police and racial systems head-on with this powerful true story. And the marriage is terrific. The actor gives a subdued yet blistering turn as Logan, anchored by riveting and vital writing from Newland and all commanded confidently by a director at the top of his game.

Although at only 78-minutes, the film isn’t afforded the luxury of time that Mangrove was (which was 119-minutes and more in-line with a feature runtime) so it only scratches the surface of Logan’s time in the force – focusing more on the inception of his career than the latter stages where he went on to become superintendent and was even awarded an MBE by the Queen. You can’t help but feel like the film ends just as the momentum is picking up; perhaps Red, White and Blue would have benefitted from being longer. That being said, Newland’s script and McQueen’s urgent filmmaking still manage to accomplish a lot in the short runtime. It’s a provocative piece of work that highlights the systemic racism of the British Police and it does so in a very enraging, enthralling way.

If Mangrove was the voice of a community then Red, White and Blue are the words of one individual in that community. It’s a more intimate and personal look at the themes that Small Axe has explored until now but they’re still as prevalent here thanks to Boyega’s subliminal turn really hammering the point home. Small Axe is McQueen’s commentary on the current affairs. Sadly, it’s a sign of the times. This final chapter may be inspired by true events that occurred in the 80s but, four decades on, the story of Leroy Logan is as important as ever. But there’s something to be said about the note of optimism it ends on. Maybe there’s hope yet.