“Widows” Movie Review

Story posted November 30, 2018 in Arts & Entertainment by Emily Mugno.

“Widows” is Based on a 1983 ITV series of the same name created by Lynda La Plante, “Widows” is not a complete duplicate of the television show. Director, Steve McQueen, was able to put his own spin on the British primetime television crime drama that aired for two years.

In the star-studded film, “Widows,”  Viola Davis, who plays the character Veronica Rawlings in the movie, is left with a debt she did not ask for. Her husband, Harry Rawlings, played by Liam Neeson in the film, was burned to death, along with his crew because of their criminal activities. They had stolen two million dollars from powerful people and that was also burnt to ashes, along with them. Veronica is being threatened by these people to come up with this money in a month, or else she will have to suffer the consequences. She tries to devise a plan between herself and the three other widows, but it is to be determined whether they can pull it off or not.

Elizabeth Debicki, also known as Alice in the film, plays a widow who was left with practically nothing when her abusive husband died. Michelle Rodriguez, known from her iconic role in the “Fast and Furious” series also plays the dominant widow, Linda. The last widow Amanda, played by Carrie Coon, is a bit suspicious to Veronica, therefore they don’t have much interaction with her. The powerful people, Jamaal and Jatemme Manning, are the ones threatening Veronica for the money she didn’t know much about. She has to put the pieces together to figure out how this money will be accounted for, but it won’t be an easy task.

This film is being praised by critics for McQueen’s direction, screenplay, editing, and score. This Oscar-winning director tackles class disparity, racial inequality, and sexism in this film. The idea of “Widows” was a thought McQueen had in 2010, but it wasn’t until 2014 where his ideas started coming to life. He is widely known for his amazing work in “12 Years a Slave.”

The iconic performances by Davis, Debicki, and Daniel Kaluuya really rounded the film out. Kaluuya plays Jatemme Manning, one of the extremely intimidating brothers. He does a great job of making the viewer fear his character. He is mad that this money is not in his possession and he will hurt anyone who is in his way of getting what he wants. Viewers may recognize Kaluuya from groundbreaking films including “Get Out” and “Black Panther.” He was also nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe award because of the substance he brought to these films.

“Widows” is classified as a drama and was received well by audiences everywhere. Critics were pleasantly surprised about this movie because there are many heist-type movies in existence, but McQueen put his own spin on this film. Sara Stewart, a top critic from the New York Post claims that this film is “a gritty romp that makes the cliché-prone heist genre feel fresh again.” The movie has grossed about 24 million dollars worldwide and grossed half of that number in their opening weekend.

Rating: 3/5 stars

 

 

Emily Mugno is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, e-mail esm6@psu.edu.