Movie Review: Widows (2018)

Widows is a social commentary disguised as a drama/slow burn thriller. It boasts a phenomenal cast, outstanding music, and a tight script by director Steve McQueen and Gillian Flynn (of Gone Girl infamy). Although some plot turns are predictable, Widows is still a terrific exploration of power--what it gives, takes, and costs, and how an unlikely group of women come into theirs.

In the movie, the death of a group of criminals during a heist acts as the catalyst for the eponymous widows to join forces. Viola Davis plays Veronica, whose husband Harry (Liam Neeson) led the gang of men. Veronica gets stuck with Harry's bill, so she reaches out to Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) with a proposition: do one job with her, pay off the debt, keep the remainder. Twist: they've never done this before!

But actually, the real twist is that Steve McQueen is more interested in the women and their antagonists than in the job. Hence the slow burn; Widows spends a lot of time following Veronica, Linda, and Alice, as well as the men they're up against: dynastic politician Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), his rival Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), and Jamal's ruthless brother (Daniel Kaluuya). Their confrontations occur during an election campaign: as the men vie for the post of Chicago alderman, the women fight to reassert the power they lost to their husbands. One fight takes place in the public eye, the other under the cover of darkness, and it's the shadowy struggle that has more integrity.

McQueen makes a lot of choices that set this film apart from other heists, with my favorite being an angry back-and-forth in a car where the camera remains focused on the exterior, showing the stark difference between working-class neighborhoods and the "good" neighborhood where Mulligan lives, and highlighting just how close the two places are to each other. The issue isn't distance; it's power. Casting Kaluuya as the enforcer character is also excellent--he absolutely nails it as a genuine threat to the protagonists. Finally, it was a delight to see Elizabeth Debicki playing a normal role, albeit whilst towering over everyone else (she's 6'3). Her character probably has the most growth, not that she needed to grow more! ba-dum-dum Get it? 'Cause she's so tall? I slay.

The job itself occurs after the characters and the social/power dynamics are well established, and I found it thrilling, especially since Hans Zimmer's score during those scenes is reminiscent of horror movies. And the aftermath is *Italian chef kiss*

Overall, Widows is an entertaining film with a message that it alternately hammers home and delicately weaves into the story. Its focus on its title characters and the broader social dynamics they act within is beautifully shot and scored, and the cast is perfect.

TL;DR: Qualifies as a light Steve McQueen film, highly recommended.

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