Viudas

Widows has the parameters of a great film, but in order to fulfil them, it should build psychological depth with something more sophisticated than long shots of the faces of the suffering heroines. And Steve McQueen, a guy with impressive talent who knows how to stage scenes that don’t fall into sterility and abounds in interesting style ideas, should make up his mind about what story he wants to tell. The film follows the structure of a heist movie that expands the knowledge of the audience about the actions of the characters, but it’s more interested in a closed psychological arc that is quite superficial and pushes aside many promising motifs (the weirdly (un)closed line of Colin Farrell, the black guy from the barbershop, and even the potential highlight of Liam Neeson). I loved the realistic nature of the action scenes that reminded me of Heat, I enjoyed the smoothly incorporated humour, and there’s hardly anything to complain about the performances, and yet Widows left me with the feeling of the squandered potential to be the strongest emancipation drama of the decade – it ends up as nothing but a poorly edited and too telegraphic showcase of technical sophistication and impressive directorial vision that will unfortunately be soon forgotten. 65% (10.12.2018)

After a string of dramas, Steve McQueen has made heist movie, a drama about widows who lost their husbands to criminals and now are left with huge debts and problems with people you don't want to associate with. Acting wise the film is top notch, but if you go to the cinema to see The Punisher or Liam Neeson you will probably be disappointed. But there is still a great Colin Farrell and a solid female cast with a tough Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez and a sexy Elizabeth Debicki, whom I liked the most. Apart from the actors, it is a realistic story full of complications and one very solid twist with a couple of minor twists, decent cinematography and a well paced heist finale that left me breathless at times. Unfortunately the film is over two hours long and apart from a good opening and finale, it doesn't offer that much interesting and I couldn't bear the deaf passages, unfortunately. Decent craftsmanship and acting quality, but it didn't really grow on me. 65% (20.11.2018)

An unbelievably racist and gender-biased film. No white man is innocent. McQueen serves up an unorthodox heist flick in which girls have to take care of things by themselves. The brilliant and vibrant Zimmer sets the pace and the female cast rocks. Out of all of them, Elizabeth Debicky is the most captivating (and not just visually). The twist with Neeson is unusual. The political storyline is reminiscent of The Wire. The ending is deeply ironic. P.S. Jon Bernthal didn’t last long. (joke, ha ha). (02.02.2019)

Steve McQueen is a solid craftsman and his dramatic opening chase scene is fiercely authentic and almost chillingly realistic, but Widows won’t be a big hit, and not even the charisma of Viola Davis and Hans Zimmer’s rehash of his Synchrotone from Black Hawk Down will help. The monotonous atmospheric synths are often reminiscent of Michael Mann's heist gem, or The Dark Knight, but everything else is terribly far from that. The film can be raw and dramatic, but it's marred by a not-so-cleverly handled and mostly unnecessary twist like a 90s B-movie that actually sends it down the drain, and most of the seriousness is gone by that point. There is no probe into the underbelly of Chicago, nor is there an ode to female combativeness and determination. It’s just another ordinary crime drama, this time with women who want to be taken seriously playing the main roles. (03.12.2018)

The ambitious 12 Years a Slave didn't appeal to me too much, but Widows is a different matter altogether. I haven't seen so many characters in one (new) film in a while that are so well written and acted and that aren't wasted, and it's a downright joy to watch them. And when their story is interesting, thrilling, well shot and has something to surprise you with (and it does), there's nothing to worry about. (04.02.2019)

At the beginning you think you're going to have a cinematic orgasm, mainly because of the A-list cast, but unfortunately the film stuck to the average and didn't go it any further. The running time of 120 minutes is so excessive that I was bored for most of the film, as the plot's appeal fluctuates like a roller coaster, good to start, then a boring half hour. Once the widows start planning the heist it picks up again, but shortly after that it falls back into dragging boredom and so on and so on. The finale isn't even a finale, the dead husband plot is underused, and the ending is boring and says nothing. I haven't seen such a bland and pointless film in a long time, a huge disappointment for me. (12.02.2019)

What got me to watch the film was its decent cast, but I feel like I was tricked. Given how boring it was, the running time was downright murderous. I’m not sure if there was a deeper message. My only takeaway from the film is that it was another act of brown nosing to the creators of racial quotas, so two black women, one responsible Hispanic mother and a Polish blonde meet to embark on a life of crime. Especially the character of Veronica seemed rather weird, at times almost schizophrenic. Her transitions from a righteous widow to a "cool" badass were really hard to believe. The script was very predictable, and I actually didn't enjoy any of it. (05.05.2019)

The collaboration between McQueen and Zimmer promised a gripping experience full of tension and a mature touch. While I did experience these feelings a few times during the film, I wouldn't label it as fully successful. The cast is outstanding, no doubt about that. Viola Davis, in particular, doesn’t need to prove anything anymore, but she still delivered a top-notch, profoundly HUMAN performance. This aspect is often lacking in films. The father-son duo of Farrell and Duvall also shone, but their storyline could have used more screen time; I wouldn’t have minded at all. Moreover, Daniel Kaluuya steals a few moments for himself, sending chills down my spine. The idea of a heist carried out by widows initially appealed to me, but the film’s execution of this original and clever concept didn’t impress me as much. There’s also a lack of deep understanding of the main female characters since the film doesn’t delve into their relationships much, which is a disappointment. However, I admit that by the end, I was as tense as could be. Add Zimmer’s thunderous score and the chilling actions of everyone involved, and you get a positive outcome. It’s worthy of four stars, but it has its shortcomings, preventing it from soaring higher. A shame. I give it 70%. (07.02.2019)

My favorite author of the books for Gone Girl and Sharp Objects has teamed up with the director of 12 Years a Slave to knead together a sort of female variation on the heist movie. It actually turned out pretty well, but I can't help feeling that more could have been mined from the material. Anyway, I have to appreciate the attempt at originality, at least in the sense that the main characters did not choose their fate and were basically pushed to it by external circumstances. The whole story thus becomes much more fateful and all the attempts at social resonance seem quite credible. And it might as well have been called A Frightening Legacy. (26.01.2020)

I'm not usually into heist movies, but this one was different. I was never bored and waited anxiously to see what would happen next. The credit for this goes not only to the clever script but also to the very solid music and decent performances by most of the cast. This time I would like to highlight especially the ladies, although the gentlemen were not bad at all. I most enjoyed the passages in which the trio of actresses Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo (either together or separately) made their presence felt. To be fair, I must add that Robert Duvall also played his role very convincingly. (85%) (12.03.2021)