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Viola Davis

Michelle Rodriguez

Elizabeth Debicki

Cynthia Erivo

Colin Farrell

Robert Duvall

Liam Neeson

Brian Tyree Henry

Daniel Kaluuya

Lukas Haas

Garret Dillahunt

Carrie Coon

Jacki Weaver

Molly Kunz

Jon Bernthal

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

Matt Walsh

Kevin J. O'Connor

Michael Harney

Clare Cooney

Ann Mitchell

DeRon J. Powell

Adam Wesley Brown

Wendy Mateo

Matthew Fowler

Bailee Brewer

Stephen Hill

Michael Weber

Adepero Oduye

Chuck Inglish

Henson Keys

Doug James

Laura Fisher

Stef Tovar

Bailey Rhyse Walters

Katherine Kupferer

Kirsten Fitzgerald

Deanna Reed-Foster

Paulette McDaniels

Will Zahrn

John Henry Roberts

Paul Stein

Coburn Goss

James Vincent Meredith

Patrese McClain

Jason Bradley

Keith Kupferer

Socorro Santiago

Sir Michael Rocks

Josiah Sheffie

Eric C. Lynch

Brian King

Stephen Eugene Walker

Chris Nolte

Chris Froseth

Kurt Ehrmann

Francis Florczyk

Amanda Rivera

Philip Rayburn Smith

Jon Michael Hill

Tonray Ho

Cameron Knight

Chaon Cross

Mark Lancaster

Lily Mojekwu

Tai'isha Davis

Alejandro Verdin

Josh Bywater

Katherine Mallen Kupferer

Olivia

Kevin Lucero Less

Sirena Crosby

Olivia Bird

Whitney Coleman

Aren Farrington

Mickey Giacomazzi

Jwaundace Candece

Arnon Milchan

Daniel Battsek

Ian Neil

Alisa Hensley

Kelsee King-Devoreaux

James Fierro

Chris Gann

Rose Garnett

Sue Bruce-Smith

Samuel Evan Horowitz

Katherine Bridle

David Soukup

Bianca Stigter

David Tennenbaum

Serrita Coleman

Jennifer Jobst

Meg Burke

Jason Millet

Jane Blank

Romain Gateau

Anthony Barracca

Kelly R. Borisy

Philip S. Plowden

Pablo Gambetta

Mallory Squeo

Edward J. Eberwine III

Caroline Perzan

Nick Rafferty

Steve McQueen

Iain Canning

Emile Sherman

Gillian Flynn

Lynda La Plante

Francine Maisler

Adam Stockhausen

Gregory S. Hooper

Ann Meyer

Jenne Lee

Doug Coleman

Philip Schneider

Scott D. Smith

Randall McDonald

Elizabeth Keenan

Hugh Sicotte

Kaira Peyton

Sharon Samuels

Ekaterina Doldjeva

Tanera Marshall

Michael Capulli

Greg Poljacik

Tom Lowell

Joe Everett

William Newell

Mariela Comitini

Linda Flowers

Aaron Crippen

Brad Robinson

Victor Capoccia

Grace Carini

Tish Johnson

Bergen Swanson

Courtney E. Hayes

Heather Ratliff

Jenny Eagan

Michael Gaspar

Becky Marshall

Larry Szymanowski

Merrick Morton

P.J. Haines

Hans Zimmer

Joe Walker

Chris Palermo

Jason Johnston

Marjolein Verheij

Leo Pritchard

Alison C. Rosa

Ronnie Mukwaya

Nick Roberts

Eilam Hoffman

Melissa Kaye

Keith Partridge

Barnaby Smyth

Valerie Morasso

Andy Welker

Amber Waters

Kristin Catuogno

Adam Mohundro

Director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn co-wrote the screenplay for his crazy-intense looking crime thriller starring queen of all queens, Viola Davis. Those three names are honestly all it would take to lure us to a theater, but it actually gets better: the film, based on Lynda La Plante’s novel of the same name, follows four women whose duplicitous husbands’ deaths lead them down a dangerous path.

Director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn co-wrote the screenplay for his crazy-intense looking crime thriller starring queen of all queens, Viola Davis. Those three names are honestly all it would take to lure us to a theater, but it actually gets better: the film, based on Lynda La Plante’s novel of the same name, follows four women whose duplicitous husbands’ deaths lead them down a dangerous path.

Widows co-stars everyone, basically, including Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez, Jacki Weaver, Colin Farrell, and Liam Neeson. Think: Good Girls meets Ocean’s 11, but the comedic elements are replaced by Davis staring soulfully into the (incredibly bleak) distance.

This film contains two movies, and I enjoyed one of them:

Widows is the story of a trio of...well, widows, who hatch a scheme to pull off a heist. The reason why the widows choose to pull off this heist in the first place is a threat by gangster-turned-political-hopeful Jamal Manning (played by Brian Tyree Henry). It was his money that the deceased husbands of the women were trying to steal before dying in an explosion set off by a hail of police bullets. The money burned up in the flames, and he wants to be repaid. Veronica Rawlings (played by Viola Davis) comes into possession of the plans for a future robbery that her husband Harry (played by Liam Neeson) was planning, and with no other options she and the other women decide to use the plans to commit the robbery themselves in order to pay off the debt (with plenty of money left over).

The cast does a commendable job, with particularly good performances put forth by Viola Davis and Elizabeth Debicki as two of the titular widows, Cynthia Erivo as the babysitter for a third widow (played by Michelle Rodriguez) who gets brought into the scheme, and Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya as a cold-blooded henchman who doesn't need to walk around screaming and shouting in order to be terrifying. Also worth a mention is Robert Duvall, who may not be in the movie a whole lot but is memorable nonetheless. The film is shot well by cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, with one standout scene being the short drive taken by Colin Farrell's Chicago Machine political candidate from an area of blight to the nice, quiet street that he lives on at the edge of the ward where he hopes to be elected as alderman over his opponent (Manning). The camera watches as rundown inner-city buildings give way to nice houses that wouldn't seem out of place in a tidy little suburb.

For a while it is interesting to watch as the women, who were not involved in their respective husbands' lives of crime, try to ready themselves for the heist. Midway through the film, however, there's a surprise reveal. I said in the title of this review that this film contained two movies, one that I liked I liked. The movie that I liked ended with this "twist", and this is where the movie that I didn't like began. Not only is the twist totally unnecessary, but the film just seems to go downhill from there. The women, whose robbing skills seemed understandably shoddy up to this point, suddenly seem to work together like a well-oiled machine. There are more twists thrown into the mix (such as the identity of the person they will be stealing from). The fate of the Rawlings' son, hinted at earlier in the movie. is revealed in a poorly executed scene. The climax of the film feels like a second-rate action flick, and the playing-out of the big twist revealed earlier in the film feels contrived. Then the film ends in a, "Really, that's how they're going to end this?" way.

I don't hate this film (faint praise, I know), but I feel that there was so much wasted opportunity. If only they had kept making the movie from the first half of this film I could have given it a higher rating, but as it stands I give it a 6 out of 10.

Gimly

Arguably longer than it had to be, particualrly when a lot of side-stories had little context and zero payoff. But there is not a **single** member of this cast who disappoints. Obviously heist movies are not a new thing, but there has never been a heist movie like _Widows_ before.

_Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

Stephen Campbell

Widows | Full Scene | 20th Century FOX

Widows | The Roundtable Series: Coming Together | 20th Century FOX

Widows | The Roundtable Series: Michelle Rodriguez | 20th Century FOX

Widows | The Roundtable Series: Gillian Flynn | 20th Century FOX

Widows | The Roundtable Series: Viola Davis | 20th Century FOX

Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez & Steve McQueen on Widows | Film4 Interview Special

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