“A searing snapshot of an early 70s Britain awash with racism.”
Small Axe: Mangrove, BBC1
“Small Axe: Mangrove clocked in at a feature-length two hours but not a second was wasted by Steve McQueen as he delivered a searing snapshot of an early 70s Britain awash with racism. It was a striking act of film-making. And a fitting tribute to the activists who took a stand against prejudices which at the time must have felt hardwired into British society.”
Ed Power, The i
“Watching Small Axe provides viewers of Caribbean descent with the rare thrill of representation, but these histories are national histories – they are for everyone. With its meticulous recreation of the texture of life, Small Axe opens up a Mangrove-like space on television for the celebration and sheer enjoyment of British-Caribbean culture.”
Ellen E Jones, The Guardian
“Mangrove is a chronicle of racism and the black British experience, a gripping courtroom drama and a beautifully directed period piece. Watched in a packed cinema, I can imagine it is exhilarating. But as a television experience, it is pummelling.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph
“Steve McQueen devoted a full hour to the trial scene in Small Axe: Mangrove, which in lesser hands would be a risk. Courtrooms have limited nourishment cinematically. Yet I was riveted, not just by the legal argument, but also by the drama and suspense. The long, unhurried silent scene when the defendants awaited the verdict was artfully agonising.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
“All two hours and ten minutes of Small Axe: Mangrove were equally earnest, if somewhat one-sided with their starry-eyed view of black British activism in the 1960s. That said, some of the images of a lost London were beautiful, and if you managed to stick with it to the third act, the courtroom drama in the last 40 minutes was superb, conveying all the alternating excitement and tedium of a trial.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail
“With live music a distant dream due to coronavirus, Oliver Murray’s film about world famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club made for a poignant watch. A documentary that wove a compelling tale while putting the music front and centre.”
Ed Power, The i
“The great pity of this documentary was that, though it lasted almost two hours, most of these performances were cut short. Next time, a compilation of longer musical recordings, with a bit less moaning about how hard it is to make a jazz club turn a profit, would be welcome.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail
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