Widows Review

7.5 / 10.  An enjoyable, well-paced heist thriller with a great cast and strong lead from Viola Davis *MINOR SPOILER*

Widows is a well-paced and exciting heist thriller film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by Gillian Flynn and McQueen. It’s based on the 1983 book Widows by Lynda La Plante, which was already made into mini-series in 1983 – 85. Her books and TV adaptations are great (Prime Suspect, The Take), and this is a great, updated version.

Four armed robbers are left dead following a police shoot out at a botched robbery in Chicago.  Their widows; Veronica, Linda, Alice and Belle, then unfortunately inherit the debt left behind by their criminal husbands. Veronica sets out to mastermind a dangerous heist her husband had planned, and recruits the other widows to assist …

Viola Davis is amazing as always (How to Get Away with Murder, Fences). She holds the lead role with grit and elegance and is a strong leader for the unlikely crime group. She showcases the range of emotions of grief after her husband’s sudden and shocking death perfectly (Minor spoiler, but it is called Widows).

I enjoyed the evolution of Elizabeth Debicki’s character Alice, and Belle is a force to be reckoned with, portrayed by the excellent Cynthia Erivo.Colin Farrell’s Jack Mulligan was very sleazy, a type of role he plays well. Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya) was a subtle, quietly disturbing character.  Robert Duvall is great in a small but important role as Jack’s father Tom and glad to see Garret Dillahunt here as Bash. I love his versatility.

The ensemble of widows worked well together with different strengths, however, I did find it strange they wouldn’t have met before if their husbands worked together, illegally so, but still. It’s a different take on a heist film to the usual. The build-up is interesting, it has amusing moments and isn’t predictable.

I loved Olivia, Veronica’s West Highland Terrier, she was a cute scene stealer.