Widows Movie Review

Widows (2018)

Rent Widows on Amazon Video // Buy the novel
Written by: Gillian Flynn & Steve McQueen (screenplay by), Lynda La Plante (based on "Widows" by)
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry
Rated: R
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Plot
Set in contemporary Chicago, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities resolve to pay off the debt by engaging in the same crimes that got their husbands killed.

Verdict
A nice twisting plot that's really well written. This balances action with character development. It feels like the characters have lives off screen too. This is a well made movie with great dialog and shots. McQueen is a great director and he's working with a fantastic script. I continuously thought, "Wow, that's good."  From the dialog to the images and characters, there's nothing not to like about this.
Watch it.

Review
From the start this crosscuts between guys in a heist that apparently went wrong to the same guys with their families. You wonder how much their families know as they all seem to live pretty lavishly.

Victoria's  (Viola Davis) husband Harry (Liam Neeson) was the ringleader of the gang and he seems to be well known around town. I guess that's small town living.
With Harry dead, the man whose money was stolen, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), wants it back from Victoria. Jamal is running for a government position in the district, attempting to unseat a political family dynasty withJack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) as his opponent.

Victoria plans a heist with the other widows. I wasn't sure how the heist intersected with the political race. Sure the stolen money affects Jamal's campaign, but what does Mulligan have to do with that? That issue becomes more prominent towards the end. I have to admit, it makes me feel old to see Colin Farrell playing a middle aged politician. I still remember him bursting onto the Hollywood scene as the resident bad boy.

What impressed me early on was the dialog. That and all of the characters feel like they have lives outside of what we're seeing that isn't explored. Jack is running for office under obligation. At one point he breaks down admitting he doesn't want it. This scene builds the character even though we don't explore that side of him.

The most frightening character is Daniel Kaluuya's  Jatemme Manning, Jamal's brother. I knew Jatemme was going to be dangerous and a borderline psychopath, but he's so much worse. Kaluuya plays the part well. The tension the movie derives from his scenes is masterful. I heard this movie was good, but I didn't realize Steve McQueen was the director. He's proven he's a director to follow after only a few films. One of his most notable shots is a single take on Jack Mulligan's car as he leaves a rally. It's a strange shot at first because we see this awkward angle of the car hood before we realize it's showing us the city. It's only a few minutes from an impoverished neighborhood to Jack's lavish mansion. The way McQueen handles a lot of the shots is just really good.

This stays away from being cliche by focusing on the characters. Each of the three women are struggling and need this money. I did take issue with Victoria assigning roles to her team without knowing their skills. She's taking a flyer, but they are under the gun, and when you need money you figure it out. I suppose that excuse suffices. In so many heist movies trust becomes an issue. Here that's never a problem. I don't know if it's a commentary on women versus men or that it just wasn't the focus of the story.

The plot has a couple of twists and I like how the script handles it. It gives us a clue but doesn't drag out the reveal. That's smart. All the pieces connect.
It's rare for all the pieces of a movie to come together so well, but that happens in Widows. I was thoroughly impressed.