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WIDOWS
Director: Steve McQueen Cast: Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Garret Dillahunt, Liam Neeson, Kevin J. O'Connor, Molly Kunz, Jacki Weaver, Lukas Haas, Robert Duvall, Jon Michael Hill, Carrie Coon, Matt Walsh, Jon Bernthal, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Coburn Goss MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 2:09 Release Date: 11/16/18 |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | November 16, 2018 Widows immediately pulls one in with its opening montage, featuring vignettes of the everyday lives of four married couples intercut with the husbands' violent escape from a robbery. From the start, the movie establishes that it's about the unique nature of these characters, existing within two very different worlds. That, though, is the end of the focused specificity of Gillian Flynn and director Steve McQueen's screenplay (based on the British television series written by Lynda La Plante). From there, the plot branches out so much that the movie loses sight of what and whose story it's telling. It's an ambitious tale, for sure, merging the private grief and quick transformation of the wives, whose husbands are killed during that opening heist, with the corrupt marriage of politics and crime within an impoverished ward of the city of Chicago. There's something to this juxtaposition, especially if one looks at the crime-and-politics angle of the plot as a kind of marriage. The screenplay, though, is primarily concerned with the mechanics of its story. If there's any thematic intention behind the combination of ordinary women turned into criminals and criminals who want to get into the game of politics (not to mention politicians who dance with crime), it's entirely beneath the surface of this particular story. McQueen's movie is all about surface. It is, admittedly, quite a striking series of superficial elements. The performances are strong. McQueen's formal elegance provides a stark contrast to the occasional violence. The genre elements of a heist movie are touched upon but mostly downplayed in favor of more subdued moments—from the grieving, to the process of planning, to the class conflicts between the widowed women, and to a general air of absolute corruption within the local politics of this city. It's a heist story, but it's one that, at least on the surface, seems to be about something more. Barring that, McQueen's obvious adoration of the movie's various stars gives us the impression that the movie isn't about the robbery. It's about the robbers. Looks can be deceiving, though, and that's the case here. The story follows Veronica (Viola Davis), whose husband Harry (Liam Neeson) was the leader of the doomed crew. Shortly after Harry's funeral, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), a rival to Harry's criminal operation who's currently running for an open alderman position, shows up at Veronica's penthouse apartment. Her husband was stealing $2 million from Jamal when he was killed. Jamal gives Veronica a month to pay back the debt. Her scheme to reimburse Jamal involves enlisting the other three widows of Harry's crew members for a robbery that he had planned. Two of the three respond to Veronica's request for a meeting, and only one of them has a distinct portrayal within the script. Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) has spent most of her life abused or manipulated by other people. Her late husband (played by Jon Bernthal) was abusive, and her mother (played by Jacki Weaver) convinces her to sign up for an online escort service to start making some money. Of the many, many characters here, Alice has the clearest, most substantive arc, progressing from a woman who has given over power into one who starts taking control of her own life. As a counterpoint, the other initial member of Veronica's crew is Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), whose most notable characteristic is that she has two children who need a babysitter while she's off planning with her fellow widows. Amanda (Carrie Coon), the fourth wife of the departed crew, is only vital for a second-act twist, while Belle (Cynthia Erivo), who works at a hair salon, enters the plan to rob a safe room too late for her to be more than another person in the room. For her part, Veronica has a last-second change that's only cathartic because of Davis' quietly intense performance. The story is divided almost in half between the women, going about the process of discovering the location of the safe room and gathering the necessary equipment, and the nondescript dealings of the candidates running for the alderman position. There's Jamal, of course, a crime boss who apparently is so under-the-radar that he meets in public places with the goons he orders to intimidate, torture, and kill people. His right-hand man is Jatemme, a ruthless psychopath played with chilling restraint by Daniel Kaluuya. The other political player is Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), whose father Tom (Robert Duvall) was the ward's alderman, until a heart attack made him decide to retire. Jack puts on a good show for the public, but privately, he wants out of politics. One of the more unexpected moments of the movie arrives with Jack's backseat conversation about his disillusionment, as McQueen keeps the camera on the hood of the car. The point is as much about the changing backdrop of the neighborhood, from a poor section to the politician's lavish mansion, as what's being said. Whatever can be said of Jack as a character, in the end, he's little more than a means to a MacGuffin. Moments such as that car ride suggest there's more on the minds of Flynn and McQueen than some generic, convoluted robbery story. One can sense the deeper intentions of Widows, but they're overwhelmed by a story that tries to do so much that its various elements are left mostly unexamined. Copyright © 2018 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for
violence, language throughout, and some sexual content/nudity)
