‘Lovers Rock’: Film Review
Director Steve McQueen conjures the sensual atmosphere and freedom of a 1980 house party in this feature from his ‘Small Axe’ anthology for Amazon about London’s West Indian community.
There’s a heady, hypnotic interlude midway through Steve McQueen’s dreamy celebration of Black community and culture, Lovers Rock, when Janet Kay’s 1979 hit "Silly Games" plays out on the turntable and is taken up by the people crammed into the suburban London living room where a house party is being held.
For a full five minutes they continue singing a cappella — the women in particular — their voices matched by the ecstasy of their swaying bodies. The massive speakers remain quiet and the only other sound is the shuffle of feet on wooden floorboards and an occasional exclamation of approval from the DJ.