Reviews: Widows

Image courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.

"Widows" is not your typical heist movie - but then again, Steve McQueen, the director of the great "12 Years a Slave" and "Hunger," might not be the first filmmaker to come to mind regarding that type of genre exercise. Don't get me wrong, "Widows" is a pulse pounding action movie indeed, but its director's sensibilities are, thankfully, on full display here. Yes, the film involves a heist carried out by a group of characters with distinct personalities, but the picture is just as focused on themes of race, corruption and societal inequality, all the while feeling of the moment, especially considering the rise of the #MeToo movement.

The film opens with a daring heist gone wrong, in which lifelong criminal Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) and his partners appear to be killed after stealing millions of dollars from a criminal turned wannabe politician, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), and his brutal sidekick and brother Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya), who enjoys tormenting his victims before killing them.

The heist may or may not also involve another shady politico, Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), whose father - surly and racist Tom (Robert Duvall) - was the long-time representative in the Chicago neighborhood where the film is mostly set. As the movie opens, Jack is falling in the polls, while Manning appears to be getting a boost, some of which can be attributed to his wooing of a slightly shady pastor.

Following the heist's failure, Harry's wife, Veronica (Viola Davis), is left grieving and also in danger after the Mannings pay her a visit and threaten to hurt her if she doesn't fork over the money that her husband and his crew stole. Veronica knows that Harry kept a notebook that included details of his previous and future heists, so she gets the idea to enlist the widows of the other men in Harry's crew to carry out his next heist for $5 million, several of which will be used to pay back the Mannings and the rest will be split evenly.

The women include Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), whose husband provided the money for the store she operates. She has now been left out in the cold by his family, who blame her for his death. There's also Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), a tall blonde woman of Polish descent who doesn't exactly seem broken up by the death of her abusive husband (Jon Bernthal), but more concerned that her nasty mother (Jacki Weaver) is attempting to push her into prostitution to make money. Alice becomes the paid date for a wealthy businessman (Lukas Haas), whose detachment unnerves her. Lastly, Linda recruits Belle (Cynthia Erivo, last seen at "Bad Times at the El Royale"), a hairdresser who loves to jog and whom Veronica assigns to be the getaway driver.

"Widows" is an exciting thriller - especially during every scene in which Jatemme wreaks havoc on his unsuspecting victims, from a wheelchair-bound bowling alley owner to two men who screw up a surveillance gig and are forced to freestyle as Jatemme looks on menacingly. The heist itself is a feat of great action moviemaking, which might come as a surprise, considering that McQueen's previous work is more avant garde ("Hunger") or arthouse ("Shame" and "12 Years a Slave") by nature.

However, it's not surprising to see the director give the picture more depth than you might expect from such a genre exercise. One particularly well-thought-out shot involves Farrell's smarmy politician having a conversation with his wife in a limousine about his campaign. But we only hear them talk as the camera focuses on the front of the limousine as it travels from the downtrodden neighborhood where the politician is holding a rally to his more luxurious abode, juxtaposing the have-nots whom Jack is supposed to represent with his posh reality.

During another sequence, Jatemme trails someone in his vehicle, listening to a radio report about Alfred Woodfox, a real-life black prisoner who spent 43 years in solitary confinement. There's also a grueling scene in which a young black man is shot by a policeman that plays a heavy role in the relationship between two of the film's characters. All of these sequences provide thematic weight to the proceedings, but without ever coming across as heavy handed.

Meanwhile, the film's timing is noteworthy. The four women involved in the heist have been given the short end of the stick by men - Veronica, for reasons I won't discuss so as not to give away plot points; Alice was abused by her husband and treated as an object by men; Linda was at her husband's mercy for money; and Belle makes no mention of any men, but she is a single mother working multiple jobs. "Widows" is doubly powerful in that it portrays tough women getting by without the help of men and taking part in an action-oriented story that is typically reserved for male actors. During one scene, Kaluuya's character is listening to a radio broadcast, in which a man proclaims that "nothing you do is gonna change your situation." But "Widows" is a thrilling, socially conscious action movie about four women who take action to do just that.