Widows
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle
Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Daniel Kaluuya
The great director Steve McQueen brought his
trademark seriousness to a "fun" genre film, remaking a British TV
show and turning it into one part feminist movie, one part social and one
part Viola Davis acting showcase. It opens with a confrontational open-mouthed
kiss, and only gets bolder from there, with lots of twists piled up toward the
end. Daniel Kaluuya is spectacular in a supporting role as a psychopath. And it
was also an important reminder that Elizabeth Debicki is really tall and really
good at acting.
The powers of the moral universe
of daily Chicago life is what we see in Widows: innocent lives are snuffed out
by gunfire; public resources are funneled through nefarious means; land rights
and business arrangements are finessed by ruthless violence and political
favor-trading; and, to top it off, there's a carefully planned heist at the
center of the story. Some characters, like Colin Farrell's oily alderman
candidate, are motivated by pride; others, like Cynthia Erivo's
babysitter turned getaway driver, by economic scarcity. Occasionally, it feels
like McQueen’s style is capable of turning scenes of mechanical exposition into
clever examinations of race and class, is more interested in exploring the
larger moral questions than the relationships or the genre details. To put it
lightly, he has a heavy touch. But the makeshift gang formed by former teachers
union rep Veronica Rawlings (Davis) after her master thief husband (Liam
Neeson) is killed in a robbery-gone-wrong is a joy to root for and the script.
In an era of over-praised TV series that could afford to lose an episode (or
eight), this sprawling and tough-minded crime saga knows just how to get out
when the heat is around the corner.
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