Lovers Rock: Words are never enough

Words can not always be trusted in the films of Steve McQueen. His movies always have lyrical voices, and despite some fucking impressive monologues, the truth is rarely in the vocal words people say to each other.

Words don't always get across what you're trying to say. They can be full of lies. They can be used to harm and oppress you under the full farce of the law.

All of the recent Small Axe films are exceptional in their own way, with entire stories hinging on pained, knowing looks instead of the usual loud outbursts, but the all-night party in Lovers Rock is working with a different kind of vocabulary altogether.

There is still a lot of talking and posturing and flirting in the film, but it's the dancing that tells the real story, that strips these beautiful people bare and shows them for what they truly are - full of life and love and everything.

Whether it's the moment when the sound system crew drop out the tune and everyone sings along in communal joy, or when the men get gloriously feral to a thick, thick beat, that's their higher selves coming through. There are no lies on this dance floor, only truth.

Pictures can tell a thousand words, which means you're getting 24,000 words a second in some films. That's worth dancing to, especially if the bass is this good.