Here’s something that snuck up on me—Widows, courtesy of
Steve McQueen, well known for 12 Years A Slave. You could say that Hollywood is
being steadily overtaken by British talent, probably part of an elaborate plot
of vengeance for the abomination known as The Patriot. But, considering it
seems to be giving us surprisingly intense and well-done material as this, I’m
not complaining.
Widows is based on an early 80s British TV drama that nobody
seems to have heard of, even people from that time. And from what I understand,
it doesn’t have much to do with it besides the basic premise. Said premise—four
criminals botch a robbery involving mob money, leaving themselves dead in the water.
Said mob is bearing down on one of the wives of said deceased felons, who assembles
the rest of their significant others to launch a heist of their own.
There’s…considerably more
to it in this one. Interwoven among all this are machinations between rival
politicians (well, a politician and a ganglord turned one—though some might
question the difference to begin with), the personal stories of each widow, and
allusions to police brutality and demographic strife. But perhaps I’m getting
ahead of myself.
Starting off—there’s the excellent cast. Viola Davis stars
as more or less the lead, the wife of Liam Neeson’s crook character, and the
one who brings the rest together. That includes Michelle Rodriguez, famous for
her tough chick roles in things like Machete and Avatar, the towering Elizabeth
Debicki, and later on, Cynthia Evro as someone drawn in from the peripheries.
Everything’s done with just the right level of convincing—the characters aren’t
expert criminals, and despite their efforts, screwups, distrust, and mistakes
occur. Debicki probably gets the most prominent subplot as she gets pushed forward
by a hypocritical mother into basically being a high-class call girl.
The rest are all solid as well—Brian Tyree Henry is one of
the main movers in the plot as a superficially affable crime boss, as is his
son, Daniel Kaluuya, who you might remember from Get Out or Black Panther.
Here, he’s frighteningly intense as a sociopathic enforcer who is the closest
to a personal antagonist the widows have. The other main opposing force is
Colin Farrell, as the scion of a political family also mixed up in shady
dealings—and as scummy as his character is, he’s not as outright despicable as
his vile father, veteran actor Robert Duvall.
The focus is first and foremost on the characters
themselves—the heist itself we all know is coming doesn’t take up as much of
the movie as you may think. Because of the performances that’s what makes the
film really work, getting to let you relate to what the women go through and
ultimately root for them. To a degree—nobody is completely perfect here,
needless to say, and there’s enough friction to highlight that they’re still
relatively normal people drafted into a very high-stakes affair.
So with that in mind, this probably isn’t for those who
prefer a sunnier tone to things. There’s also a couple of contrivances to get
the plot going that might stick with you—but considering how tight the film is
made, I’d wager many will happily overlook them.
Widows is definitely one of the more solid films I’ve seen
this year, especially outside the blockbuster circuit. There is definitely a
lot to take in, but it manages to avoid being thinly spread. Much like 12 Years
A Slave, it may not be as popular as some of the multiplex-destroying mega-blockbusters
out there, but it’s worth your time nevertheless.
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