Every Steve McQueen Movie Ranked Worst To Best

9. Alex Wheatle (2020)

Out of all of Steve McQueen's films, and his masterful Small Axe anthology, the drama Alex Wheatle feels the most incomplete and lacking.

The one-hour film follows Alex Wheatle (Sheyi Cole), a Black British novelist who went from lonely, abused orphan to prominent activist sentenced to jail following his involvement in the 1981 Brixton Uprising. The journey is brought to searing life by Cole's passionate performance, and McQueen's ability to focus on the finer emotions affecting the character.

But of all the director's works, Alex Wheatle feels both rushed and unrefined, with McQueen and co-screenwriter Alastair Siddons telling Wheatle's story without slowing down to focus on the bigger moments that maybe deserved some more care and attention.

This major flaw derails the film's impact, even if Cole is more than willing to elevate the source material with every scene in which he shines.