Award winning director Steve McQueen assembles a fantastic all-star cast, to elevate what could otherwise have been a fairly run-of-the-mill crime thriller.

Premise: After their husbands are killed during a botched robbery, four widows find their lives in danger from the crime boss whose money their husbands stole. With no help from the police or local corrupt politicians, the only way they can repay the money is to carry out the heist that would have been their husbands’ next job.

Review:

Director Steve McQueen’s previous three films (Hunger, Shame and 12 Years a Slave, which won the Oscar) have all dealt with fairly heavy subject matter, so it came as a bit of a surprise when it was announced that his next project would be an adaption of the 1980’s British TV crime drama Widows. But with Steve McQueen at the helm, and with Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl and Sharp Objects) as co-writer, this version of Widows was never going to be just another crime drama.

McQueen and Flynn have managed to make a film that not only works on a visceral level as an enjoyable crime thriller, but which also has something to say on a variety of social issues, including racism, sexism, nepotism, grief, political corruption, social inequity, poverty, electoral boundaries, police brutality and gun control. But the film never becomes preachy – instead these social issues are just the everyday backdrop against which the crime thriller plays out, and yet by shining a light on these issues McQueen and Flynn to challenge the audiences’ attitudes on these subjects.

“…the real strength of the film is the quality of the stellar cast list…”

The real strength of the film, however, arguably comes from the quality of the stellar cast list that McQueen has assembled. Leading the film is Oscar winner Viola Davis, who is the rock around which the whole film is anchored. Davis plays Veronica Rawlings, the widow of renowned thief Harry (Liam Neeson), who steps into her husband’s shoes as the de facto leader of the group of widows. Veronica is a character who has been emotionally closed off by grief, and in a lesser actor’s hands, that could have made it hard for the audience to connect with her – but with Viola Davis in the role, there are no such concerns. Arguably the second lead is Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Alice Gunner, the abused wife of Harry’s fellow robber, Florek (Jon Bernthal). Alice’s journey and evolution during the course of the film means that Debicki gets plenty to do.

If I have one complaint about the amazing cast, it’s that I don’t think that all of them to get enough to do. Michelle Rodriguez plays Linda, the third of the widows, but hers is very much a supporting role (although she does get a couple of standout moments). The fourth widow is played by Carrie Coon, but she is not involved with the widows’ plans as she is left with a newborn baby after the death of her husband. Cynthia Erivo plays a local hairdresser and babysitter struggling to make ends meet, but like Rodriguez and Coon, it feels that there just isn’t enough material for an actor of Erivo’s talent.

“…has a lot to say about a wealth of social issues…”

Outside of the widows themselves, the standout performances come from Colin Farrell and Daniel Kaluuya. Farrell plays Jack Mulligan, the son of a local politician (played by Robert Duvall), and brings an interesting spin to the role, as Jack Mulligan has more layers to him than might first appear. Daniel Kaluuya, meanwhile, plays the brother/enforcer of the local crime boss whose money was stolen (played by Brian Tyree Henry), and brings an undeniable sense of icy menace and unpredictable danger to the role. Kaluuya continues his recent run of great performances, capping off the everyman hero role in Get Out and the conflicted hero role in Black Panther with an out-and-out villainous role here. McQueen’s cast list is so good, even relatively minor supporting roles are taken by actors like Garret Dillahunt and Lukas Haas.

If there is one aspect that perhaps lets the film down a little (other than simply not having enough material for all of the great actors to get their teeth into), it’s that the end heist is arguably a little underwhelming, especially considering how tense and gripping the opening heist sequence was. That said, it’s difficult to imagine what else they could have done for the climax, without it stretching the film’s credibility – these are, after all, meant to be inexperienced widows not veteran bank robbers, and so a Heat style shootout was never on the cards. But it probably is fair to say that the finale lacks with tension of, for example, the final act of 2016’s Hell or High Water, which also involved inexperienced and out-of-their-depth criminals.

Ultimately, Widows works as a gripping and enjoyable crime thriller that is carried by its fantastic cast and taut direction, and which has a lot to say about a wealth of social issues. But when the dust settles and all’s said and done, the story itself is nevertheless a fairly straightforward one.