By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Coburn Goss | Jon Bernthal | Liam Neeson | Manuel Garcia-Rulfo | Michelle Rodriguez | Viola Davis
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2018
Running time: 129
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5613484/reference
Brett says: “Steadfast in my stance on this film, no one can tell me that this isn’t a film that is the very definition of a ‘try hard.’ I had high expectations for this with all of the heavy-hitter names attached, but the things likable about it are not even the things being discussed, and the parts abysmally portrayed are exactly the ones that modern film politicos seem to be backing. I’m confused why audiences are supposed to like it due to the fact that it’s a standard male heist movie that we would normally roll our eyes at, but we’re not supposed to roll our eyes at the absurdity of this one because it’s apparently one-of-a-kind since it has females in the leading roles instead of men.It’s a film that has a real opportunity to champion females in roles previously designated as ‘men only,’ but it falls subject to all of the lame ‘try hard’ tropes that any male heist movie would fall into. It’s unforgivable for a movie with an all male cast; therefore, it’s just as unforgivable when it feature females. One of the supposed large ‘gasps’ of the movie lies in its ‘did you really just try to flip the script’ plot twist ending, which is so telegraphed and predictable that it’s difficult not to walk out before the credits roll. Again, I understand the importance of implementing female empowerment into such films, but subjecting that noble goal to the tired and worn out tropes of the genre makes everything the filmmakers are going for fall well short. I’m already braced for Viola Davis to get tons of acting nominations for her role in playing … well, Viola Davis, but there seems to be no stopping the hype train that had already decided to love the lofty goals of a film of this type before it ever hit the big screen. It is probably disastrous on my part to note that Daniel Kaluuya (GET OUT) is the most gritty, disturbing, and gripping performance in the whole film despite being amid a group of female caricatures and almost cartoonish-level characters that are done a great disservice from the casting and directorial team. Everyone is going to praise the strong women of the film, but I often see much stronger women on the big screen than the Hollywood connect-the-dots film here. WIDOWS is a film that is trying, oh, so hard to be an emblem and standout for a new wave of social-realignment filmmaking, and it certainly has stacked the deck with the names attached to this lofty goal, but I’m afraid it takes more than the names attached and this one stands out in all the ways it shouldn’t. We should certainly look to better, more authentic examples to champion the cause.”