Movie Review: Widows, Overhyped? Maybe. A Good Movie? Yes.
‘Widows’ is one of the first big Oscar contenders in this final stretch-run for 2018 movies. Did we like it as much as the critics did? Find out below…
Jeff (89/100): Was ‘Widows’ overhyped? Maybe. Was ‘Widows’ still a very good movie? Yes. The execution and pacing both seemed off at times, but the acting and story do enough to pick it up and make it an engaging entry into the heist-thriller genre.
The two standout performances in ‘Widows’ were easily from Viola Davis and Daniel Kaluuya. It should come as no surprise to say how great job Viola Davis was in this one. Regardless of what movie she is in, even in the pretty-terrible movie ‘Suicide Squad’, the Academy Award-winning actress turns in a solid performance. The distraught and emptiness of her character dripped off of the screen. You could feel the weight of her side of the story and understood her connections to the narrative and theme.
On the other side of the coin, Daniel Kaluuya was menacing and terrifying. The actor, who has been on a hot streak, might have played one of the best villains from any movie this year. He has the same lack of care for his victims as The Joker and is as cold-blooded as Anton Chigurh. Kaluuya’s performance adds to an already tense movie and is a sure-fire nominee for an Academy Award.
The overarching story, and the twists that come with it, avoid the cliched norms of the heist genre. There is a different type of rawness that you get with this movie. It feels more grounded in real-life as opposed to some sort of fantasyland that you often get with your run-of-the-mill heist movie.
My issues, as I mentioned before, are in the departments of how the story was executed and paced. They’re one and the same for me with ‘Widows’. The story as a whole worked for me, but it was the time it took to tie everything together that seemed to drag a bit. Director Steve McQueen is a genius, but the story seemed to get away from him just a hair. I understand the emotion and depth of the characters is what makes this movie stand out, but the climax and main heist in the movie felt so small in comparison to the lead-up. Did it all come together as a solid movie? Yes. Could it have been tighter? No doubt.
‘Widows’ was one of the Top 5 movies I was most excited for entering the second half of the year. I was surely not disappointed and had a fantastic movie-going experience. With that said, considering the hype it received, I expected to like it more than I did. The performances are great, it is shot beautifully (there is a one take scene of a car driving all the way from a poor, run-down neighborhood into a more affluent neighborhood that is truly incredible) and boasts a great script, but it just left me wanting a little bit more. With that said, ‘Widows’ is still one of the must-see movies of 2018.
KenJac (87/100): This is a really interesting story that sort of fell victim to its runtime being too short for the number of stories they were trying to tell. I love a lot of what Steve McQueen was able to do with the enveloping storylines, but it never quite seems to find a singular vision. What you do get from the movie is a beautifully shot, extremely well-acted pseudo-heist movie.
It is a tremendously star-studded cast, so instead of listing them off, I’ll just highlight who I thought was exceptional. Viola Davis was the clear stud of the cast, delivering a stunning and multi-layered performance as Veronica. I also thoroughly enjoyed Brian Tyree Henry and Daniel Kaluuya’s the Manning brothers, who both took on a differently scary aspect of criminal enterprises. Elizabeth Debicki was also very interesting in probably the most complex role of the movie. I don’t think I really ever connected to Colin Farrell’s character, who seemingly was both was extremely evil but also sort of good? It was confusing.
This was so incredibly well shot by McQueen. My personal favorite scene is an exterior shot scene of a car driving from a poor district to a rich one, all in a single long cut. If you haven’t realized yet, I fucking love well done long cuts. Another great one takes place on a basketball cut, that was seemingly 10 minutes long at least and absolutely perfect. I think my main problem with the movie is that it tries to tell too many stories at once and ends up not telling enough of anyone’s story besides Veronicas. I wanted to know more about the dynamic of the Manning brothers and Harry’s story as well. What McQueen manages to do perfectly is touch on a number of topics including police brutality, racial inequality, social stratification, and corruption in politics. It was great to see, but that stretch took a little away from the satisfaction from the plot and characters.
I think the fact that it remained this interesting of a movie despite its flaws in trying to do so much is a really a testament to how incredible some of these performances were and how great McQueen was behind the camera. Side note, I really want to own Veronica’s dog.
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This movie is Officially Buttered and one of the top-rated movies of the year from our audience. Make sure to subscribe and listen to Lights, Camera, Barstool where we review all of the biggest movies from the year. Remember to rate all 2018 movies below.
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