The best of the five films in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, Lovers Rock pulses with pleasure, proving the various skills of the British director.
Unlike his Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave or mid-range genre foray Widows, this film is loose and animated by joyousness.
The romance between Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) and Franklyn (Micheal Ward) unfolds during the course of balmy London night in the 1980s, beginning on the dance floor of a house party (the title of the film refers to the romantic subgenre of reggae) and deepening into the daylight hours.
Sound and movement reign supreme in Lovers Rock, which revels in the way torsos sway and limbs entangle, finding sanctity in sweaty devotions to rhythm.
It’s a short, slender, joyful work, and pleasure to watch.





