Alex Wheatle

The fourth in Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology series revolves around the title writer in London. Most of the story is told in flashback as Wheatle (Sheyi Cole) is in jail following the Brixton Uprising in 1981. Wheatle is depicted as a wayward young man who was orphaned as a baby and is trying to find his way in the world via writing and reggae music. McQueen and co-writer Alastair Siddons do a decent job setting the scene, but at just over an hour in length there isn't enough time to fully develop Wheatle as a person. The screenplay gives little hint of the award winning writer he would become and the explosive Brixton Uprising isn't really set up nor explored. It's not a bad episode, but it is inessential.