Widows (2018), Liam Neeson, Viola Davis, 20th Century Fox
There are a couple of unexpected turns I enjoyed in Steve McQueen’s crime/thriller, Widows. A story about four women in need of a way to survive after their husbands’ criminal activities leave them in huge debt.
Starring Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, and Robert Duvall, Widows is, without a doubt, very well acted and devoid of any dull moments.
I’ll start by saying that I generally appreciate the quality in movies where everything isn’t overly explained. I like moments where the audience is trusted to connect the dots and make sense of things. Widows is a movie that has a handful of such moments. Yet, the ending aside, McQueen’s film feels oddly incomplete.
The feeling of incompleteness comes first from not knowing enough of the backstory of some of the characters. We learn a fair amount about some key players, but we’re left wanting when it comes to Cynthia Erivo’s very intriguing Belle, for example.
Widows (2018), Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Rodriguez, 20th Century Fox
There are questions I had about one or two of the dead bodies and how they were disposed of. If you’ve watched Widows, you may be reading this and be thinking: ‘The brown notebook, silly!’ And you wouldn’t be wrong. Nevertheless, I still wanted to be fully convinced by how the story played out, especially when it came to the widows’ turn to criminality. Unfortunately, even though I came close to being convinced, I just wasn’t – not completely.
I’ve seen far too many television crime dramas/thrillers, which show just the right amount, for me to buy a story wholeheartedly, which is why I can say that Widows may have been better suited to a miniseries format. That way, it wouldn’t feel quite so heavily edited and in draft form. There’d be more time for me to get to know a greater number of the characters more satisfyingly.
My favourite performance in Widows is delivered by Farrell. I enjoyed watching his super-entitled politician’s son character and listening to what sounded like a very convincing accent. Elizabeth Debicki also delivered some fun turns I wanted more of.
Overall, Widows may not be my favourite McQueen movie, but it isn’t all bad either. Watch it if you’re curious. You may find it more complete than I do.
Directed by Tim Burton, Dumbo is Disney’s re-telling of the story of an elephant ridiculed for his big ears. Ears he’s in fact able to use as wings and fly.
Colin Farrell, Eva Green, Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito star.
I remember the Dumbo story only vaguely and this trailer has me only a little bit curious.
Widows is a Chicago-based crime/thriller about four women who must find a way to survive after their husbands’ criminal activities leave them in great debt.
From 12 Years A Slave (2012) director Steve McQueen, Widows stars Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Jon Bernthal and Michelle Rodriguez.
The cast, the director, the story, the way it looks like something I didn’t even know I was desperately waiting to see; I’m in.
Daniel Kaluuya, Cynthia Erivo, Brian Tyree Henry, Elizabeth Debicki, Garret Dillahunt, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall and Lukas Haas also star.
Written/directed by Dan Gilroy of Nightcrawler (2014), Roman J, Israel, Esq. stars Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo and Shelley Hennig in a story about a driven, idealistic defence attorney. One who, as a result of a tumultuous series of events, finds himself in a crisis that leads to extreme action.
Of course I’m in! Washington and Farrell, such a promising pairing – and that’s before anyone even mentions Mr. Gilroy, the man responsible for the movie that really should have resulted in an Oscar nomination for Jake Gyllenhaal.
The Movie My Life 