Widows (2018)

[aabattery]

Discuss and stuff.

[Blankments]

Widows is, more than anything else, ambitious. McQueen’s latest strives to appeal to the mainstream while continuing to engage with the tough topics his films always tackle. It succeeds at both, but keep in mind, this is more a Steve McQueen movie than anything else. This makes me think it may misfire with mainstream audiences, but I loved it. Tense sequences are punctuated with marvelously wry humor and the film has its eyes on many hot-button topics that weave together to make a sprawling epic of the Windy City. If anything, the film tackles too much; there’s quite a bit here that feels glossed over or not given the time to breath to fit in the two-hour runtime. One can easily tell this is adapted from a miniseries, and indeed, it may have been better staying in that format for an American adaptation. Still, there’s enough going here emotionally and character-wise that the overly complex story works nevertheless.

 

Davis puts forth another marvelous lead role, and Rodriguez and Debecki are the stand-outs, the former doing smart subtle acting and the latter giving a showy role a lot of unexpected dimension. Kaluuya steals the show in his scenes, but one will definitely wish his role was larger, as it really doesn’t amount to much time on screen. Indeed, that goes back to the main problem of the film: there is no one weak in this cast, but several characters get the short shrift on having fully convincing arcs just because of the short runtime.

 

However, is this really a problem for Widows? I’d say no. To want more of a movie is an asset, showing that the world and characters are fascinating enough to be longer than what’s given to us. Flynn and McQueen’s tale encompasses political corruption, gender politics, and racial complexities of today’s society, building it together into a spectacular fable. What this fable exactly means, I can’t gather after first watch, but I will gladly be returning to Widows when it enters wide-release. This is the good stuff, folks. A

 

(When I saw this, it was introduced by Steve McQueen, who introduced Gillian Flynn and the members of the cast in attendance: Brian Tyree Henry, Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Neeson, Cynthia Erivo, and Viola Davis. Definitely added to my hype for the movie, but yeah, this would’ve been tight regardless.)

[baumer]

Sorry Blank but why would you ask for this now?  I can appreciate that you have seen it, but this doesn't come out for another month here in NA.  I'll pin it but this should have been added much later.

[Blankments]

2 hours ago, Dr Loomis baumer said:

Sorry Blank but why would you ask for this now?  I can appreciate that you have seen it, but this doesn't come out for another month here in NA.  I'll pin it but this should have been added much later.

Someone in the thread had asked for a review in the thread, so I was like, I can do it in RTM if you want. I didn't wanna keep posting in the BOD thread about detailed thoughts on the film so I asked for it here

 

If you want, you can unpin it for now and I can remind you to repin the week it comes out; I'll take responsibility for that

[baumer]

Naaa....it's okay...your review is a good one....I'll keep it up here. 

 

[CoolioD1]

just repeating what i said in the other thread; really good but overstuffed for sure, every storyline feels like it needed just a little bit more room to breathe (like i'd like to have seen at least one post-heist scene with farrell or brian tyree henry even if that's Not The Point) though having too much to say is never that much of a negative really. mcqeen proves he can keep his arthouse style while making something mainstream and fun the heist sequence is top notch stuff.

 

the whole cast is great, debicki was my favourite. there was a moment after the "twist" where i thought the movie was actually gonna give carrie coon something to do, but nah. shame.

Edited November 6, 2018 by CoolioD1

[MrPink]

I could have used one last scene with Brian Tyree Henry for sure, it wasn't really clear to me what happened to him. Presumably he still remained involved in crime despite losing? Did he ever know that Viola Davis was involved in his brother's death, and how was that squared away? 

 

Gillian Flynn really seems to be attracted to stories where the spouse fakes out their death.

[Frozen]

I’m watching it now. Does the dog survive the movie?

[Frozen]

Yay the dog lived and Liam Neeson died twice! 

[filmlover]

A terrific and fresh spin on the heist movie. I really loved Steve McQueen's direction here; clearly studio filmmaking fits him well. It also feels like the product of Gillian Flynn as well, right down to the surprise twist (most of my audience gasped when it was revealed). The cast is impeccable: Viola Davis (of course) and Elizabeth Debicki are definitely the standouts, but I like that every single member of the cast had something to contribute. Sure, there are plot holes that become evident upon reflection afterwards, but the experience is so well-made and rewarding that it's easy to overlook them. A-

[YLF]

I loved this movie, however, I understand why it had a lackluster cinemascore and audience rating. The film just isn’t as advertised at all. It is not high octane heist movie. Is is a socio political crime drama(as I saw someone mention shonda Rhimes-esque ). I do wish it did focus a tad more on the heist and that it wasn’t such a small part of the movie. It lasted for like 10 minutes. I only say this so it would appeal to general audiences more. I loved all the subtle in the movie. The shot where there is an external view of Collin Darrel’s car driving from a “poor” to rich neighborhood in a span of minutes was such an amazing moment. Because it’s so true.i don’t live in a poor neighborhood, more lower middle class-middle class area but literally 2 blocks away is where rich business men and celebrities live from my house(iggy azalea, nick young, rob kardashian, and the list goes on). So that scene definitely hit home to me. A lot of the political/racial themes hit home to me. When the black guy running for office told viola “welcome back” it’s so true that people only cared about her because she was with a prominent white dude, once he died she was pretty much nothing/forgotten about and had to face the realities of being a black woman. Furthermore, I loved Debicki’s character as well. It was interesting to see her go down the route of her mom(sleeping with rich men for money) when in actuality she really didn’t want to. The movie is just amazing in so many ways, but it is a slow-slow burn and if you aren’t anticipating that I can see why you disliked the movie. I read /watched enough reviews to know what I was getting into so I wasn’t disappointed that there wasn’t as much action. This movie is a solid A.  There honestly seems to be a lack of good Oscar worthy movies this year and I hope this gets nominated and wins some awards.

Edited November 18, 2018 by YLF

[4815162342]

On 11/6/2018 at 2:10 PM, CoolioD1 said:

just repeating what i said in the other thread; really good but overstuffed for sure, every storyline feels like it needed just a little bit more room to breathe

the whole cast is great, debicki was my favourite. there was a moment after the "twist" where i thought the movie was actually gonna give carrie coon something to do, but nah. shame.

 

this essentially. Felt like at least several scenes were tossed out for the final edit, especially in the third act/epilogue.

[4815162342]

Farrell's half-hearted accent was something all right.

 

DK's character was very much Diet Anton Chigurh

[filmlover]

Also agree with @YLF about that awesome long shot from the outside of Farrell's car. Perfectly conveyed what McQueen was going for without it feeling at all on-the-nose.

[SteveJaros]

Damn, I was going to post a wordy review, but I see you guys have basically covered things.

 

In a nutshell, I liked it too, give it a B+, despite the concerns with it being a bit too busy in terms of different plots tangents unfolding. Audacious film-making and I was entertained throughout. 

[The Panda]

Lots of moving pieces but a really solid crime film.  The subtle commentary is killer, and some really effective scenes.  I would have liked some resolution on if Davis’ character squared away fine with Jamal, unresolved plot conflict there.

 

Of the two female powered heist films this year, this is easily the better of them.

 

The Liam Neeson twist was fairly gut punching.  And you can feel the pressures of every corner of the environment pressing down on the three main women.

 

A-

[Webslinger]

Widows checks off many boxes at once: a worthy cinematic follow-up for both director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl); a tense and enthralling thriller with some genuinely surprising twists; an unapologetically feminist film in which women claim their power in a world poisoned by toxic masculinity; and a surefire crowd-pleaser that had me rooting harder for the main characters than I have at any other movie this year. The film accomplishes all of these tasks with such skill and bravado that every scene feels vital, the stakes feel high, and every piece of payoff in the third act feels earned. Flynn’s script and McQueen’s direction are so laser-focused that the film never feels like it’s biting off more than it can chew despite balancing many different plot threads and developing so many different characters. The world they develop is rich, and the ways in which they develop the titular trio’s gradually increasing willingness to engage with its seedier, more threatening sides make the central heist feel like a uniquely dangerous but necessary proposition with greater social weight in the wake of the MeToo movement and its focus upon women taking charge against the patriarchal forces that threaten them. The film is further elevated through superb acting across the talented ensemble. Viola Davis is reliably solid in the most prominent role, expertly packing layers of unspoken emotions into facial expressions and gestures while also capitalizing fully upon the moments in which her character’s past traumas and resiliency bubble to the surface. Elizabeth Debicki is a revelation in her performance as an oft-abused widow who seizes control of her life through the central heist; she feels entirely believable in every stage of her character’s arc, from her deer-in-the-headlights disposition in the first half to her stronger sense of self-assuredness in the second. Daniel Kaluuya also succeeds in stealing each of his few scenes with go-for-broke work that highlights his character’s short fuse brilliantly and ferociously; despite Kaluuya’s non-threatening stature, his character’s volatile id makes him feel like a terrifying threat. Without a doubt, Widows is one of the most thoroughly satisfying films of the year and one of the very best mainstream thrillers in recent years.

 

A

[snitch]

OK, i am a man and  i fell offended by this movie - the point of this movie IS ..... wait for it ....... MAN ARE TRASH. WOMEN ARE GOOD. MAN ARE BAD, LIARS, KILLERS, RAPIST, EGOMANIACS and so on.
There isn't a single descent male carachter in this movie and as movie went the  #metoo bullshit was far too obvious for me and my wife.

Still the cast is great, the direction, the story is nice with a good twist but with two incredible stupid moments - the scene where their son died was really bad and the other was the ending - all of a sudden Liam Neeson is going to kill his wife, just like that - but you know- man ......  ...everything is solid. But i am tired of those types of movies.  

[Barnack]

23 minutes ago, snitch said:

WOMEN ARE GOOD

The main characters is a woman in the movie and she blackmail a bunch of widows into risking their life into a heist to pay money back her criminal husband stole (and she not only knew about it, lived the very life style and she was particularly happy the morning of is criminal activity), there is reasons she simply do not go to the cops.

 

Pretty much everyone is quite bad in the movie, Davis character obviously but Carrie Coon character is quite something also.

Edited November 25, 2018 by Barnack

[WrathOfHan]

Good movie, but like Coolio said, there are too many threads that aren't dived into deep enough. As a result, I kind of didn't care about anything. That car scene with Colin Farrell is legendary tho. 8/10 | B (or something like that. idk)