I Will Survive
By Tom Pacak
Dear Aspiring Directors and Writers, This is how you do a thriller! Director Steve McQueen masterfully gives us a thriller that pins us to our seats but also gives us something to think about. “Widows” is an entertaining as hell heist flick that I’ve been waiting to see for years. The Oceans movies (which I love) focus more on the con itself but not really on the characters. The characters are cool but that’s really it. They steal for fun and revenge. In “Widows,” the characters planning the heist, are stealing for survival. Their husbands are con men but the widows have nothing and everything to lose.
Since seeing “Widows,” I’ve looked at the box office receipts and they haven’t been well. The film managed to place fifth at the box office with an opening at $12361307. The film since then has had receipts around the one million mark on Monday and Tuesday. Despite being a great movie, the marketing for “Widows” has been poor. The poster for the film looks like a cheesy thriller you’d see on Netflix. It shows the nine main character’s faces in a straight line. Nobody wants to see a movie with that kind of poster. I know the star power of Viola Davis and Liam Neeson can bring to the movies. Ignore the marketing. See “Widows.”
Steve McQueen drops us right into the war zone by opening up with the heist gone wrong. It starts off in flashbacks with the numerous widows and their husbands in peaceful moments and then cuts to the men trying to flee the scene. Editor Joe Walker should have Oscar consideration for this opening alone. For this, were able to see the lives these criminals live. The leader of the crew Harry Rawling (Liam Neeson) is shown to have a loving relationship with his wife, Veronica (Viola Davis). Their life is more mysterious than the others. Alice Gunner (Elizabeth Debicki) is in an abusive relationship with her husband Florek (Jon Bernthal) and her mother Agnieszka (Jacki Weaver); Linda (Michelle Rodriguez); is a mother of two who owns a clothing store; Amanda (Carrie Coon) has to take care of her newborn baby. It’s clear at the end of this scene; these four women are now widows.
After Harry’s funeral, Veronica gets a visit from crime lord and politician, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry). Jamal and Harry had mutual respect for each other until his gang took his money. Harry’s crew took over 2 million in campaign money from the Mannings. The widows have to get it back. Every scene featuring Jamal and his sociopathic brother, Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya) keeps you in fear. Whether it’s Jamal’s first visit to Veronica where he holds her dog as a scare tactic or just Jatemme’s overall presence, these guys are not messing around. One criticism I have about the film, which isn’t even a criticism at all, is that Daniel Kaluuya is so good that I wanted more of him. This is another mark in his resume that shows he has a great future in acting!
Fearing for her life, Veronica decides to plan the heist. All the widows except for Amanda (due to her having to raise a newborn) decide to do it. They also get a driver, Bell (Cynthia Erivo) after the widow’s original driver is killed by Jatemme. This is a heist not bent on fame or having fun, but survival. Steve McQueen makes films about characters trying to survive. In his Oscar-winning “12 Years a Slave,” McQueen showed us the constant struggle Solomon Northup went through to live and get out of slavery. “Widows” shows us the struggle people get into when life isn’t in their control. The wives had no idea this heist would become apart of providing for their families. None of them want to deal with people like the Mannings or the Mulligans, Jack Mulligan and Tom Mulligan (Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall) a group of career politicians fighting to keep their throne. Jack Mulligan is one of those politicians elected out of pure nepotism. A guy who thinks he deserves his spot because of daddy’s last name. A guy who thinks he's doing good by giving black women opportunities to open businesses. This would be good if he didn't take a good portion of their profits.
The writer of “Widows” (Gillian Flynn) is known to thrill us but also give us criticisms about media, politics, and race. McQueen and Flynn are both pissed off at the way things are going. They hate how the rich cheat out the poor, how unarmed black men are shot every day, and how people are put into situations they can’t control. “Widows” reminded me of another great heist flick, Michael Mann’s “Heat.” Both are films that force you to have empathy for the protagonists and antagonists. Both protagonists and antagonists in “Widows” are characters who were put into situations they can’t control. Watching “Widows,” there were times where I rooted for the widows to succeed, times I would root the poor would be represented by somebody (Jamal Manning) who actually relates to them, and that Jack Mulligan would get out of a career he hates. “Widows” wants to show us we have to do everything to survive. If you don’t, then you’re screwed.
The cast really makes this story and the characters feel relatable. Viola Davis can play any role you give her. She really captivates as the leader of the pack who is lonely and wants best for her. Michelle Rodriguez normally plays flashy badasses in films like “Fast & Furious,” here; she’s forced to go in depth as a vulnerable woman still sad about the loss of her husband. Cynthia Erivo (who killed it in “Bad Times at El Royale”) should be a star. The real star is Elizabeth Debicki, who shows the fight to become somebody better even if she doesn’t have the love or support from family. Even Liam Neeson is great in the flashbacks he’s shown in.
“Widows” does have a plot twist that anybody who’s ever seen a movie could have easily predicted. I won’t spoil it for you but if you’ve read this review you’ll be able to figure it out. Don’t let it ruin your movie experience. I didn’t mind it. It’s not a twist that came out of nowhere but one that could have happened in this story and did. It’s predictably didn’t take me out of my movie experience. It made the heist more complicated and intense. This further proves that with great characters and story, all flaws can be forgiven.
Comments
Post a Comment