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Widows – Film Review

Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, Jon Bernthal, Liam Neeson

Director: Steve McQueen

Synopsis: After a bank heist goes horribly wrong, leading to the deaths of all the crew, their widows step up to finish what their husbands started…

Review: As a director, you make one of the most heart-wrenching but extremely impactful pieces of cinema to come out in this decade. A film that landed you the Best Picture Oscar, no less, how do you follow that up? For Steve McQueen, following on from his success with the aforementioned 12 Years A Slave, the answer is simple. You team up with another recent Oscar winner and make another exhilarating, heart-pounding piece of cinema. Namely, a heist film quite unlike anything the genre has concocted before.

After a team of criminals is caught up in a heist that gets all of them killed, their widows are left in a very desperate situation. Veronica Rawlings (Davis) is the widow of the leader of the crew, Harry (Neeson). Not long after her husband’s death, she receives a rather uncomfortable visit from crime boss Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), the target of the botched heist. Demanding repayment of the stolen money, and given a rather tight window in order to do so, Veronica has the plans for what would have been her husband’s next job. Needing her own crew to pull it off, recruits the other widows who also lost their husbands in the same heist, for a new mission to score the money that their husbands stole. Conceptually, though this may sound like your average heist film, in execution, it is a very different beast.

The screenplay, co-written by McQueen and Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn adds deep political subtext to this story that really gives the film a unique feel to it. Furthermore, with such powerful women at the centre of this gripping story, in the era of the Me Too movement, it feels all the more powerful and relevant in modern times. What McQueen and Flynn’s script does so excellently is give each woman involved in this daring heist a significant amount of development. Though they come from different backgrounds, each woman absolutely stands on her own two feet, and all give excellent performances.

Leading the pack and fresh from her Oscar success, Viola Davis is once again superb in the role of Veronica. She is a woman who has been to hell and back again, both with events in her past and in the immediate aftermath of her husband’s demise. Yet her fiery spirit keeps her going through this turbulent time. Likewise for Alice (Debicki) and (Rodriguez), both of whom are also dealt with a torrid set of consequences in the wake of the heist that robbed them of their spouses. But with the resolute Veronica at the helm, there is no time to mope, they have some work to do.

Though the women have the spotlight absolutely deservedly on them, Daniel Kaluyya’s portrayal of Jamal’s brother, Jatamme is magnificent and absolutely terrifying in equal measure. A VERY different kind of role, especially in comparison to his Oscar-nominated performance in Get Out, but with every moment he has on screen, his cold demeanour and brutality are enough to send shivers down the spines of the audience. This is a man whose path you do not want to cross under any circumstances.

With the theme of powerful women front and centre, McQueen also brilliantly weaves political drama into the story. There is one moment in particular that really stands out in terms of how the scene is filmed. And by doing it this way, it really sends a startling message about modern day America and in particular modern American politics. It is another film released this year that feels very timely in terms of its themes, whilst also being not afraid to pull any punches, or to let the bullets fly.

A heist/thriller with a lot to say for itself, boosted an impeccable stellar ensemble cast and bold direction, another exhilarating addition to the filmography of Steve McQueen.

Gone Girl – Film Review

Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Emily Ratajkowski, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Tyler Perry

Director: David Fincher

Synopsis: When Amy Dunne (Pike) disappears in mysterious circumstances, her husband Nick (Affleck) becomes the centre of the police inquiry into his wife’s disappearance whilst also being the focal point of an intense media glare as it is suspected that he may not be as innocent as he appears

Review: For anyone watching this movie, either in a marriage or preparing to enter one, this film could give them an anxiety attack. Marriage used to be seen as the ultimate form of commitment to your significant other, but on the basis of this film, one could be forgiven for having second thoughts. The film pulls you in and offers a deep, complex look at what marriage is and what it can do to people, under certain circumstances. In that we get a stylish, dramatic story of a couple that pulls no punches and will keep you engaged. You do not know where the story will go next and it stays on point for almost the entire run time.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, the story focuses on Nick Dunne who comes home to find that his wife Amy has disappeared in unusual circumstances and the media frenzy that ensues when it starts to appear that Nick may have had something to do with it all. For the next two and a half hours, through flashbacks and present-day perspectives, the pieces of the puzzle are steadily put together in order to find out what happened. It is gripping to watch as obviously we see Nick’s life quickly descend into a living hell. The viewer is taken along for a ride, you feel like you’re the onlooker as you watch it unfold. From his perspective to hers, there are twists and turns, shocks and moments that will leave you speechless.

Under Fincher’s expert and flawless direction, the acting on show is flawless. Affleck is a man who has come under intense media speculation and backlash due to his casting as Batman in the upcoming Batman V Superman flick. With this in mind, he does an incredible job as he tries to come to terms with all that is happening and the intense media frenzy that develops in the wake of his wife’s disappearance. Equally mesmerising is Rosamund Pike as Amy. Her scenes mostly come in the form of flashbacks but she delivers a fantastic performance that is at one moment incredible and in the next moment shocking and almost socio-path-like. A stunning career highlight that should earn her an Oscar nod when next year’s Oscars roll around. The rest of the supporting cast was also absolutely on point with special mentions going to Tyler Perry who gave a strong performance as Nick’s lawyer. In addition, Neil Patrick Harris also delivers a wounded yet creepy performance playing the very creepy ex-boyfriend of Amy’s.

Fincher is one of the best directors working today, and every shot of this film feels meticulously crafted in its execution. One of the producers said that the director took as many as fifty takes per scene. The dedication that the director shines through in almost every frame. The script is astounding and the story keeps you engaged throughout its two-and-a-half-hour run time. As well as a potential Oscar nomination for Rosamund Pike, nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Direction are definitely possible. The film does not shy away from that dark and controversial material, it throws it in your face and when the credits roll, it will leave you reeling and should you be single, you may be thankful you are.

Thought-provoking, twisted and daring, Gone Girl is a suspenseful, on-the-edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that does not hold back. With Fincher’s flawless direction and outstanding acting, this is a film not to be missed and one of the best of the year.