Widows (2018)
Keeping it real
Five minutes into the movie, I told myself — Oh no, this is going to be a long two hours. I was so happy that I was wrong, and for the right reasons — because Gillian Flynn is the master of the mid-plot pivoting and keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The film begins with a bunch of thieves who get killed in a police chase after a heist. The money they stole is of a criminal, who needs it to finance his election campaign. As we get to know their wives, who are now widows, we realise that their husbands left a huge amount of debt and it is now upto them to clear it and save their lives. As the story progresses, we learn about the criminal, his opponent candidate and how both their lives are intertwined, with the widows forming a unique and deadly link in between. The film stars a fiery ensemble consisting of Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, Colin Farell and Robert Duvall. It is written and directed by the duo of Steve McQueen and Gillian Flynn, and is based on a 80s British TV series of the same name.
Alright, let’s dig in.
The central plot element used by McQueen and Flynn is juxtaposition. Right from the first scene which shows a violent heist and peaceful romantic moments in parallel. The effect is so pronounced that you can see it in the colour pallet and the editing — with the use of white rooms and dark chase scenes. The same concept is applied to the two candidates running for the alderman of a ward. Jack Mulligan(Colin Farrell) is wealthy man whose family has been running the ward for generations, where as Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry) is a career criminal, trying to establish a legacy. But what the creators of the movie do best here is the layered development of these characters. At first, they just seem to be to polar opposites, but as the film progresses we learn their real intentions. While Jack seems to have real care for the people, Jamal is willing to go to any extent to get what he wants. And as we reach towards the end, we learn the truth about Jack and how both of them are actually the same foxy, ruthless criminals beneath.(Late observation — both of them share the same initials — J.M)
There there is the other world, of the widows. All three of them have something in common — their lives have been jolted by an incident and they want the lost stability back in their lives, to protect the things they care about. Veronica (Viola Davis) cares only about her survival, and decides to go out of her comfort zone to do the heist. Linda(Michelle Rodriguez) cares about her children, which is evident in the way she put up with her violent husband — just for the money. Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) on the other hand, wanted to prove her worth and was tired of the people around her. She wanted a get away, one which would give her a sense of achievement. This heist would give her that, and bring her a stable life. In they end, they do find what they needed, but in each other. Through comfort and support, they attain self actualisation. Even Henry(Liam Neeson) was looking for something similar, as evident from the latter half of the story. All the characters are somehow after the same thing, even though they are vastly different from each other. Through grit and determination, the protagonists get there, where as the antagonists don’t.
The film is over two hours long, but it is packed with so much content. There are two different worlds telling two different stories, and with the genius of Flynn, they connect in the end. All the characters leave an impression on the viewer, owing to the wonderful cast. Viola Davis plays a civilian, both knows and does not know what her husband does for a living. But when circumstances force her out, she is at her usual best — commanding the screen and always being the fiercest one. I was quite impressed by Brian Tyree Henry, playing the stone cold politician, one who never gets his hands dirty, but always leaves a trail of blood behind.
There are also some wonderful scenes which need to be discussed. The best one being the long shot where Colin Farell getting into his car after his speech, where the camera is placed on the hood of the car, panning sidewards as he moves from a slum area to a gated community. The contrast I mentioned earlier is accentuated in this scene, and the director-writer duo have mentioned in interviews that they did a lot of research to understand the local community and get their perspectives into the movie. Then there are the scenes between Viola Davis and Liam Neeson, which look so uninteresting and vanilla, and only later on you realise they actually work. By showing their relationship as non-progressive, the film establishes it as a norm, which is the best way to blend it into the storyline. The van buying scene in the movie reminded me of a similar scene in Ocean’s 8 and somehow felt like a jab into the latter’s caper-ism, showing ’em how it’s done.
Even though the framework of the film is pretty old fashioned, the direction brings a contemporary and stylish look to the film. Very rarely these days do you see a clue is found by picking up a discarded matchbook pointing to an address — a tried and tested screenwriting ploy. Widows was one my favourite movies from last year, filled with so much substance and plot twists. It might not be Steve McQueen’s best, but it leaves a message for everyone, in the form of a popcorn entertainer. In the end I’d like to say that this film is all Ocean’s 8 could not be — sorry, but not sorry. Fin.
