December
09
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WIDOWS (15)
WIDOWS (15)
Run time: 129 MINS
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Carrie Coon, Brian Tyree Henry, Jacki Weaver, Garret Dillahunt, Ann Mitchell
Synopsis: In Chicago’s criminal underworld, four men die after a heist goes catastrophically wrong. Their widows are forced to clean up the mess and embark on a heist of their own — against the backdrop of a corrupt political race for the soul of the city. “Widows” is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities.
URL: https://youtu.be/xjML2JCCuNc
Academy Award®-winning director Steve McQueen [12 Years a Slave (2013)] and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn [Gone Girl (2014)] have adapted the popular 1980s ITV television series which was based on Lynda La Plante’s novel.
Widows is a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption, which manages to have emotional and socio-political resonance with contemporary themes. The film is elevated above the usual genre heist tale, and boasts an incredible ensemble cast including Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, Robert Duvall, Jackie Weaver, Carrie Coon, Cynthia Erivo and Garret Dillahunt.
Ann Mitchell who played Dolly Rawlins in the ITV BAFTA Award nominated TV series (1983-85) has a cameo as the mother of Amanda (Carrie Coon).
Steve McQueen has made an intelligent, emotional thriller – relocated seamlessly into the world of contemporary American politics in Chicago – which quickly expands into a commentary on poverty, violence, policing, corruption, sexism and being a minority in the USA.
When a Chicago woman named Veronica (Viola Davis) loses her husband Harry (Liam Neeson) in a heist he masterminded, she finds herself responsible for his debt to local crime lord Jamal (Brian Tyree Henry). Veronica recruits the widows (Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki) of the other men who died on the same job as Harry to pull off another heist that he had planned. Meanwhile, Jamal runs for office against corrupt Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), and Jamal’s brother Jatemme [Daniel Kaluuya, playing the polar opposite of his role in Get Out (2017)] menaces the women.
With a score by Hans Zimmer and cinematography by Sean Bobbitt, a razor sharp script and complexity as well as high entertainment values, McQueen elevates Widows to a level above most heist movies. Another bonus is the appearance of the adorable West Highland Terrier Olivia, who also featured in Game Night (2018).
Images courtesy of FOX
