"Widows" Review - How To Get Away With Some Oscars

There are many films that fly by. These films come and go. We see them get buzz, and sometimes we all love it and then walk away, with the joy of seeing whatever we saw as a distant memory. Some of these movies are thrilling, some are romantic, and some are Oscar bait.

Last night, I saw the West Coast Premiere of a movie called “Widows”, which is a heist thriller by Oscar winning director, Steve McQueen, that comes out in mid-November. This movie is 2 of the three adjectives I described above. However, this film is not Oscar bait. This film is the real motherf***king deal. It is quite possibly one of the best films I have seen within the past decade. I knew I was going to love it considering my admiration for “12 Years a Slave”. But this movie sure does put the hammer down and far exceeded my expectations.

The script is by McQueen and the writer of Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn. It’s a literal masterpiece of a script that has comedy, suspense, horror, drama, sadness, and a heist plot that at some points reflects a little of “The Godfather”. It’s accompanied by badass Hans Zimmer superhero like music, brilliant one shot takes and colorful cinematography, and the backdrop of Chicago, which I consider the biggest love letter to the city since “The Dark Knight.”

What the script does so well is make good use of character development and have a very jaw dropping story while centering around a diverse female cast. And this cast includes Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Rodriquez, and Elizabeth Debicki. All of them are so ferociously good in this (especially Viola) that they set the bar for female dominant movies. Seriously, THIS IS WHAT FEMALE CENTRIC FILMS SHOULD BE LIKE. The female actors in this are treated like regular human beings; ones that have a wide range of emotions while also being smart and undeniably badass! The few men that are in this, like Collin Farrell and Brian Tyree Henry also stick out very well. I will say though, Daniel Kaluuya is the main villain, and he better get an Oscar nomination. He’s Al Pachino level incredible, and to think “Get Out” was only less than 2 years ago.

There is honestly so much I love about this. It’s one of the most perfect films I’ve seen in years that I probably will need to see multiple times to take it all in. Viewers are not ready for what they are about to see. It’s breathtaking, hair-raising, and incredible full and through. Before the movie started, the runners of the festival said after a day like today, we gotta see some badass women try and kill some men. All I’m going to say is “Widows” is no marketing gimmick. This film is real, and you all must see it when it’s released.

Two Nebs Up!