Widows (2018)

Directed by: Steve McQueen | 130 minutes | crime, drama | Actors: Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Coburn Goss, Michelle Rodriguez, Alejandro Verdin, Bailey Rhyse Walters, Elizabeth Debicki, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Jacki Weaver, Molly Kunz, James Vincent Meredith Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Eric C. Lymch, Michael Harney

There’s nothing better than a good heist movie every now and then. Surprisingly, however, when Steve McQueen, known for beautiful arthouse favorites such as ‘Shame’ and ‘Hunger’ and Oscar winner ’12 Years A Slave’, ventures into this genre. And no, Vin Diesel, George Clooney and The Rock are happily staying at home this time, it’s the power women’s turn. Does this mainly result in a film in which the gender swap mainly serves as a fun but unsurprising gimmick, as in a film like ‘Ocean’s 8’, or is McQueen simply too much of an artist in the core? To ask the question is to answer it.

Anyone who has already seen the posters or trailer for ‘Widows’ must have looked up intimidated. As if Steve McQueen was walking around Hollywood with a magnet to gather some Oscar winners around him, then looked for some proven talents, and to top it off hired Gillian Flynn as co-screenwriter, previously responsible for the rock-solid ‘Gone Girl’ . Of course, it can also be potentially dangerous: too many well-known headlines do not automatically result in a strong film.

Basically, ‘Widows’ follows a fairly simple storyline: veteran robber Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) and his crew see a robbery fail miserably, resulting in a deadly confrontation with the police. Result: four grieving widows. Complication: the loot of more than two million dollars that goes to the grave. Harry’s wife Veronica (Viola Davis in her now almost usual Oscar form) is then confronted with her husband’s legacy when the robbed party comes to recover. Whether she wants to pay back the two million within a month.

In icy hypothermia, she then makes contact with two of the other widows: Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), after which they must use their creativity to commit a robbery themselves. Parallel to their storyline, we follow the election battle between Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry) and Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), as the latter grapples with the shadow of his overbearing, all-powerful father (Robert Duvall). The rest of the cast includes Carrie Coon, Jacki Weaver and a convincingly terrifying Daniel Kaluuya.

One of Steve McQueen’s main goals with ‘Widows’ was to reach a wider audience, which seems like a more real possibility with this genre and cast than with his previous work. And yet it is questionable whether ‘Widows’ will find favor with the popcorn audience, because the action in the film is kept to a remarkable minimum, although McQueen shows in the stunningly shot opening scene that he is also more than excellent with action scenes. can. In ‘Widows’ McQueen focuses his camera much more on the psychological development and backgrounds of the characters. The film clearly shows that all the female characters were tormented in some way by their partners: Veronica because of trauma, Linda because of her husband’s unstoppable gambling addiction, and Alice because of a man with loose hands. In essence, ‘Widows’ is therefore much more than a gender swap heist film. The film can be read much more as a feminist-psychological thriller, in which the heist elements mainly serve to propel the plot forward.

With such a potpourri of themes, as a director you have to watch out for the balance, but luckily McQueen manages to dose most of the dramatic entanglements (including some sneaky twists) excellently, with Viola Davis as an insanely strong superglue. While watching the film, the question sometimes arises whether this film could have worked even better as a miniseries, because some characters remain a bit underexposed. ‘Widows’ is therefore a rare example of a film that could have gone on for hours, not least because of McQueen’s stunning visual style and rock-solid acting.

In short, ‘Widows’ is much more than your dime a dozen popcorn heist. The strength of the film lies mainly in the emotional development of the characters, carried by an ensemble of actors to frighten them. Those expecting a rock-solid action thriller will be disappointed, audiences expecting a little more than pop-puff-poof will be eager to please. As a filmmaker, Steve McQueen is simply too strong to deliver just a ‘simple film’.