Viola Davis and her heist crew are dynamite in this all-star ensemble heist thriller unfortunately trapped in its own devices.
Over the weekend, I drove down to LA to meet up with my friend Isabel and to attend my first American Cinematheque screening. I had a great time, and I was excited to experience one small corner of the gargantuan city with someone I’ve had the pleasure of knowing since college. I was especially excited for the screening: Widows, a heist thriller starring Viola Davis, directed by Steve McQueen, and a part of a retrospective series of the late great Robert Duvall.
The only problem was that Isabel and I weren’t impressed.
For the record, I don’t hate the film. I just think it could have done more with the ambitious presence. After their husbands die in an explosive heist gone wrong, widows of the dead criminals band together in a last-ditch effort to survive in a world that wants them dead. Set amidst the backdrop of corrupt local politics in the South Side of Chicago, I was intrigued. With an all-star cast that includes Cynthia Erivo in her film debut and Brian Tyree Henry, I was certain the cast could act their ass off.
And they certainly did. Everybody is believable in their roles, from Elizabeth Debicki as a battered widow who is struggling to make ends meet, to Colin Farrell as a nepo baby politician who couldn’t care less about the people he’s supposed to serve. Daniel Kaluuya plays the red right hand of a brutal gang leader, and one stare into a dead man’s eyes will send shivers down your spine.
The story, however, fumbles.
I would have been fine with just the widows planning the heist. Instead, it’s also a story about a broken marriage, sexism, the struggles of being a single mother, Black businesses, and local government corruption. It’s a whole hodgepodge of movie genres crammed into two hours. Plus, the female empowerment aspect of the plot suffers as a result. I love that Viola Davis gets to play the part of a chessmaster organizing a heist, but I wish I could have seen the women being more complicated and vicious. They’re imperfect enough to be somewhat complex, but they’re innocent enough to be heroes you can root for.
Let women be nihilistic antiheroes, dammit.
As a result of the screenwriting mishaps, I was confused as to what the message was and how I should feel about the women when the credits roll. In fact, the film kind of outright tells you what it’s about as it’s happening, which is quite disappointing. For something that is supposed to be a modern-day neo-noir with more feminist themes, there was not that much ambiguity you’d associate with the genre. It all felt very Marvel-y in the end, which was disappointing.
In fact, considering that Steve McQueen is the man responsible for such modern-day masterpieces such as Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years A Slave, I was a more than a bit disappointed. McQueen is clearly no stranger to difficult topics, especially when it relates to themes of race and gender. His work on the anthology mini-series Small Axe in 2020 is a perfect example of this. Through multiple perspectives that act and operate as their own story, he was able to look at the issue of institutional racism against the Windrush Generation in Britain from multiple perspectives. While that is a mini-series made for TV and not a film, I couldn’t help but think that McQueen bit off more than he could chew for Widows. The one thing that I can give McQueen credit for is that he knows how to direct. There isn’t one shot that isn’t out of place. He knows what he’s doing, but this script didn’t work.
So maybe the right word for describing this film wouldn’t be disappointing, but underwhelming. There’s great moments of actions and decent twists, but it isn’t enough to save a film that’s drowning under its own weight.
FURTHER THOUGHTS
- Cynthia Erivo is criminally underutilized in this film. That woman can RUN.
- Mark this film as the third one this week where the dog was the second main character.
- Colin Farrell, your shamrock is showing.
BEYOND THE FRAME 
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