# Lovers Rock (2020 film)

Lovers Rock is a 2020 romance film directed by Steve McQueen and co-written by McQueen and Courttia Newland. It stars Micheal Ward and Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn. The film was released as part of the anthology series Small Axe on BBC One on 22 November 2020 and Amazon Prime Video on 27 November 2020. It premiered as an opening film at the 58th New York Film Festival on 24 September 2020.

## Plot

Two lovers meet at a reggae house party in 1980 in West London.

## Cast

* Micheal Ward as Franklyn Cooper
* Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn as Martha Trenton
* Kedar Williams-Stirling as Clifton
* Shaniqua Okwok as Patty
* Ellis George as Cynthia
* Francis Lovehall as Reggie
* Daniel Francis-Swaby as Bammy
* Alexander James-Blake as Parker B
* Kadeem Ramsay as Samson
* Romario Simpson as Lizard
* Jermaine Freeman as Skinner
* Marcus Fraser as Jabba
* Saffron Coomber as Grace
* Frankie Fox as Eddie Marks
* Dennis Bovell as Milton

## Release

The film was selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival alongside Mangrove, but the Festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film later premiered at the 2020 New York Film Festival, which was held virtually, alongside Mangrove and Red, White and Blue. It screened at the 64th BFI London Film Festival on 18 October 2020. It premiered on BBC One and became available for streaming on BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2020, and became available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the United States on 20 November.

## Themes

"Lovers rock" was the name of a musical genre popular around the mid-1970s in London, but its influences were transatlantic, as were its reaches. The film is named after the genre and plays some of the most popular songs throughout the movie, such as "Silly Games" by Janet Kay. The genre, which coupled the heavy reggae basslines popular in Jamaican music and the soft-soul vocal harmonies originating in Chicago and Philadelphia's R&B scenes, forged unique spaces of freedom common in young Black people of the time whose families were immigrants. This musical influence across space and between diaspora communities represented what Paul Gilroy theorized as the "Black Atlantic", a culture that exists outside of nation-state boundaries.
The politics of Lovers Rock are deeply tied to its musical and cultural setting, reflecting the sociopolitical climate of 1970s Britain. During this period, Black British communities faced systemic racism, economic marginalization, and police hostility, exemplified by events like the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival riots. Amid these challenges, Lovers Rock emerged as both a soundtrack to and a sanctuary for Black joy and resistance, providing spaces for connection and cultural preservation. The film portrays these dynamics through its depiction of a reggae house party, where sensuality and intimacy coexist with the ever-present external threats, symbolized by police sirens and moments of racial tension outside the party. Music becomes a tool of defiance, with its deeply personal and communal elements offering refuge from oppression.
The film also highlights the nuanced role of Black women within this space, navigating both desire and autonomy in a society that often sought to limit their agency. As scholar Carolyn Cooper suggests in Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large, Black female performers and audiences of Lovers Rock challenged the expectations placed on their bodies and voices, using the music to articulate both their sensual and political identities. Lovers Rock reflects this duality, portraying Black women not only as objects of desire but also as active participants shaping the social and cultural environment of the party

## Critical response

Review aggregator Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 95 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 8.79/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "A singular viewing experience that perfectly captures a moment in time, Lovers Rock is a lovingly-crafted ode to Black joy." The entire Small Axe anthology was nominated for Best Miniseries or Television Film at the 78th Golden Globe Awards.
Angelica Bastién of Vulture.com called Lovers Rock "undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year...a transfixing romance not just between the two characters at its center but one about the beauty of the human body, the succor of an energetic party, and the possibility in the hush of a night."
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of best films from 2020.