The widows of three professional thieves decide to pull
​off a heist of their own to pay off a dangerous crime boss.

CRIME/DRAMA

Widows (2018)

Directed by Steve McQueen

Written by Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen

Starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki,
Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson,
​Robert Duvall, Brian Tyree Henry, Jacki Weaver

Remake of the 1983-1985 TV series Widows

---

Connor Eyzaguirre

October 19, 2020

8/10

Widows is a triumphant female empowerment movie that is also one of the most ballsy heist thrillers in recent years. Sporting an impressive cast, including Oscar-winner Viola Davis's first leading role for a major studio ever, Widows is ultimately a film about consequences and reaping what you sow. Director Steve McQueen brings the heat like he always does, delivering realistic and emotionally layered characters in an unforgiving world. All the side stories lead into the main one and it pays off, which is incredibly rare, and while it's a bit of a slow starter, once the action starts, it just keeps revving up.

A botched heist leaves a team of thieves dead and their widows without income. Veronica (Davis) receives a visit from local crime boss Jamal Manning (Henry), who informs her that her husband Harry (Neeson) died stealing his money, and now Veronica has to settle it. With no other options, Veronica recruits the other widows, Linda (Rodriguez) and Alice (Debicki) to rob the home of local government candidate Jack Mulligan (Farrell) who is storing five million in payoffs. There's a lot more to it, including some mind-blowing twists. I was particularly stunned by Daniel Kaluuya's turn as Jamal's psychotic enforcer Jatemme. That guy keeps surprising me with his intense performances.

Widows is a good watch that didn't get nearly enough attention back in 2018. When I saw the trailer, I thought it might be a dark horse Oscar contender. It took me way too long to watch this one, but my instincts were definitely correct. For the ensemble alone, this film is worth your time, but the writing is fantastic too.