A mother and her son are separated in wartime London in "Blitz," director Steve McQueen's searing drama about clinging onto hope in the midst of chaos.

Saoirse Ronan is Rita, who has to part with her son George (newcomer Elliott Heffernan, in his first role), who joins the thousands of children being sent by train to live in the English countryside as Germany rains down bombs on London during World War II.

Their parting is fraught. "Don't forget to be a good boy," she tells him, all warmth. "I hate you," George replies.

He doesn't. But George, who is biracial and never knew his father, is scared by the situation and terrified to be on his own.

Midway into his journey, he leaps off the train to make his way back to London on foot. He ends up in a series of mini-adventures that play out like chapters in a Charles Dickens novel, or frames from a netherworld episode of "The Little Rascals."

McQueen, whose unflinching "12 Years a Slave" won best picture in 2013, softens his touch a bit here. But his eye is as sharp as ever, and he identifies beauty even in the darkest of spaces, whether in a subway station where people are taking cover from air raids or in the neighborhoods ravaged by bombs.

In one small but stunning sequence, cinematographer Yorick Le Saux captures the bustle of a London street by tracking a rock as it's kicked down a sidewalk.

There are also lively scenes inside jazz clubs that flash back to Rita's relationship with George's father Marcus (CJ Beckford), who is deported after he gets into a scrap with a group of White troublemakers on the street. For McQueen, the diversity of London is always a focus, as is the prevalence of racism.

Ronan, whose character is a factory worker who sings on the side, is effective as always, but the majority of the movie stays with and hangs on Heffernan's character, who props it up on his small but capable shoulders. "Blitz" is a story of struggle and perseverance, and never giving up in the face of imminent doom.

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'BLITZ'

Grade: B+

MPA rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements including some racism, violence, some strong language, brief sexuality and smoking)

Running time: 2:00

How to watch: On Apple TV+ Nov. 22

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