Small Axe: Stream Sir Steve McQueen’s film anthology on Showmax

Steve McQueen is an iconic name from the 20th Century, which came to prominence on the back of lead performances in classic action films. Just as “The King of Cool” was becoming immortalised in Hollywood with roles in Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair, his namesake, the filmmaker behind this anthology, was being born in London.

The name has been carried into the 21st Century with a knighthood and remains in the world of film, going behind camera into the director’s chair. Sir Steve McQueen is from across the pond, an auteur responsible for films such as: 12 Years A Slave, Shame, Widows and now Small Axe.

Having migrated to England, Steve’s parents hailed from Grenada and Trinidad, which gives him special insights into the experiences of West Indian immigrants. Taking place between the 1960s and 1980s, Small Axe is a reference to a proverb and Bob Marley song that serves as a guiding light to the films in this authentic and powerful dramatic anthology.

Mangrove (128 minutes)

Steve McQueen’s first film in the Small Axe anthology is a historical drama depicting the story of Frank Crichlow and the Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill, West London, a gathering place for Carribean immigrants. Frequent police raids and ongoing discrimination within the community led to a growing influence from The Black Panther movement and clashes with police. After a climactic protest, the Mangrove Nine, as they came to be known, were charged with riot and affray.

Echoing films such as The Trial of the Chicago 7, Judas and the Black Messiah and South Africa’s historic Rivonia Trial, Mangrove is a fierce political drama about systemic injustice, prejudice and clashes with police. Starring Shaun Parkes, Letitia Wright and Malachi Kirby, this is a powerful dramatisation of events surrounding the landmark 1971 trial. Made even more stirring in the wake of the BLM movement and immigration politics, Mangrove immerses audiences in the life and times of West London and its buzzing community.

Exquisitely photographed, charged with emotion and filled with impassioned performances, this film sets the platform for McQueen’s painful yet triumphant anthology.

Lovers Rock (70 minutes)

Lovers Rock was a popular music genre from the time and serves as the second film in the series. Set over the course of a night at a lively reggae house party in 1980, Steve McQueen immerses us in the environment’s realistic sights and sounds as if we were one of the guests. Using a nostalgic selection of music to paint atmosphere and inform the era, McQueen transports his sharp young ensemble with a meticulous eye, able to capture the fashion, hairstyles and even dance trends of the time.

Starring Michael Ward and Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, McQueen follows a budding romance against the backdrop of a party, using chemistry, music and mood to create an energy and spontaneity. With these that range from petty jealousy to gender and racial disparities, Lovers Rock serves as an immersive and bumping time capsule.

Red, White and Blue (81 minutes)

While the title typically refers to the star-spangled banner, it’s also a clever nod to the Union Jack in Steve McQueen’s third Small Axe entry. The historical police drama follows Leroy Logan, an officer in the London Metropolitan Police, who tried to reform the state institution from the inside out. Coming at a time when police officers of colour were a rarity, the promising medical research scientist and founder of the Black Police Association made it his mission to be the change.

This gutsy film could warrant its own police procedural spin-off series, based on a true story and chronicling a man’s self-sacrifice in order to do the right thing. Moving from childhood experiences of the police to a racially motivated altercation involving his father, Red, White and Blue has a wide scope when it comes to see-sawing between resolving issues from a familial to governmental level.

Starring Steve Toussaint and John Boyega of Star Wars fame as father and son, this is a deeply affecting, powerfully acted and handsome character portrait of one man’s heroic efforts to change his community and send ripples across his country.

Alex Wheatle (66 minutes)

The fourth film in McQueen’s masterful Small Axe anthology, Alex Wheatle is an entertaining character portrait based on a true story. The biographical and historical drama centres on an award-winning British novelist who confronted his difficult past after being imprisoned following the Brixton uprisings in 1981. Starring Sheyi Cole as Wheatle, this multifaceted drama covers a complex life and identity reinvention after young Alex grew up as an orphan.

Meeting people who took Wheatle under their wing and reunited him with his West Indian roots, the amusing yet heartfelt story tracks Alex’s integration into a community as he fosters a love for music. Set against the violent and political sway of the times, black-and-white photographs highlight the seamless wardrobe, hair and production design.

Education (63 minutes)

Education is a stirring, naturalistic and well-acted ensemble drama based on the unofficial policies of London councils where a disproportionate number of West Indian children were transferred to schools for the “educationally sub-normal”. Education has a biographical edge, given that Steve McQueen hid his dyslexia for many years and thought it meant he was stupid.

Starring young Kenyah Sandy as Kingsley, the film follows a young student whose reading difficulties land him in a special needs school. Chronicling his home life, experiences of the special needs school and administrative revelations, this authentic and moving drama follows in the anthology’s attention to detail when it comes to mis-en-scene. The fifth and final film in the nuanced Small Axe series, McQueen ends on a quietly powerful, emotive and optimistic note.