Review: Widows

Meticulous veteran thief Harry (Liam Neeson) sees his life of crime finally come to an end in the aftermath of his latest heist. The majority of the film however, concerns Harry’s wife Veronica (Viola Davis) tracks down the spouses of Harry’s crew, none of the women acquainted with one another but bonded together over their respective spouses and the financial mess they have left them in as a result of their crimes. Veronica is visited by crooked wannabe Chicago alderman Jamal (Brian Tyree Henry), who threatens to sic his psycho thug brother (Daniel Kaluuya) onto her unless she pays the debt he believes she owes him for the money her husband stole from him. Harry’s loyal chauffeur (Garret Dillahunt) gives Veronica a diary belonging to Harry that outlines plans to rob the home of the Mulligans, Jamal’s political opponents. Slick but jaded Jack (Colin Farrell) is currently struggling to compete with Jamal in the political race. Jack is the son of Tom Mulligan (Robert Duvall), an old school Chicago politician and power broker, a racist bastard who is hated by his son. In order to pull off the heist, Veronica calls upon the other widows, including an abused wife (Elizabeth Debicki, good as always) who is pimped out by her awful mother (Jacki Weaver), and a financially struggling mum (Michelle Rodriguez), who in turn recruits her new babysitter (Cynthia Erivo) to be the getaway driver. By pulling off this job, Veronica can repay Jamal, and they will all have enough left over to start new lives. Jon Bernthal is the abusive piece of shit husband, Carrie Coon plays the other spouse who doesn’t sign up for the heist, and Kevin J. O’Connor plays a disabled acquaintance of Harry’s. Lukas Haas turns up as a potential suitor for Debicki.

This 2019 big-screen remake of a 1983 Lynda La Plante TV mini-series comes from heavy-hitters Steve McQueen (director of “Shame” and “12 Years a Slave”) and his co-writer Gillian Flynn (2014’s best film “Gone Girl”), who couldn’t have picked a better time to release something like this. The cultural climate and a female-centric crime-caper are a match made in heaven. The film also happens to be pretty damn good, which is more important to me. I do wish they changed the title, remake or not, as I think it gives at least one important plot detail away sooner than necessary. I also think Michelle Rodriguez is utterly wasted and ultimately perhaps not terribly well-cast in a genre that should’ve been perfect for her. I would’ve given her the role played by Cynthia Erivo, which Rodriguez could’ve played in her sleep. You’re gonna hire Rodriguez for this and have her play a boring housewife instead of the tough getaway driver? Are you high? Driving fast cars (or driving cars fast) and sneering are her two talents! Meanwhile, I found the opening doomed robbery and getaway to be far too overdone. Otherwise, this one’s pretty much a winner, with a mostly outstanding cast, even in the tiniest of roles.

I’m hot and cold on Viola Davis generally, but she’s the absolute right actress for this lead role, and she doesn’t fail to deliver presence, power, and performance. She’s a rock-solid anchor for the film, and I can’t think of an actress off-hand who could’ve played the role any better. Seen mostly in flashback, Liam Neeson nonetheless creates a believable romantic pairing with Davis, which is really crucial. He’s a remarkable actor, because he manages to pull you in despite scant screen time. Although he’s not in the film all that much, and he seems too old to be playing Colin Farrell’s father, Robert Duvall is at his racist, hateful sonofabitch best here. He’s Rip Torn levels of cantankerously mean. He and believably slick Colin Farrell play a helluva pair of soulless opportunistic politicians, I wasn’t sure which was the worst of the two. Along with a solid Brian Tyree Henry as Farrell’s political opposite (but just as sleazy) they create a very cynical political trifecta. Also scoring on the villainous front is a very surprising Daniel Kaluuya, playing Henry’s sociopathic gangster brother. A million miles from his likeable protagonist in Jordan Peele’s popular “Get Out”, Kaluuya is ice-cold menace, incredibly cruel and evil. He pretty much walks off with the entire film alongside Farrell, though Duvall probably would’ve bested them both had he been in more of the film. In smaller roles we get great turns by Jon Michael Hill as an all-too slick preacher associate of Henry, Lukas Haas keeping you guessing as a self-described ‘nice guy’, a nice two-scene turn from a quite unrecognisable Kevin J. O’Connor, and Jacki Weaver and Garret Dillahunt being underused but enjoyably cast to type and against type, respectively.

If there’s a flaw here, it’s that the film is a bit slow around the 30 minute mark especially. I know you run the risk of paring down screen time even further (I suspect poor Jon Bernthal had a scene or two on the cutting room floor), but for a caper flick like this, pacing is key.

Very nearly a really good film, this is irresistible stuff that whilst very thematically indicative of the #MeToo era we’re currently living in, still manages to tell a good genre story with the requisite Gillian Flynn twists (Which I should’ve seen from a mile away, but admittedly I didn’t). Although there’s not enough room for everyone to play fully fleshed-out characters, it’s a strongly acted film, with top honours going to Viola Davis in the anchoring role, and especially the nasty crooks played by Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, and Brian Tyree Henry. I just wish it had a bit more energy to it.

Rating: B-