+++ Opinion +++
After winning an Oscar with 12 Years A Slave, British director Steve McQueen had a pretty good choice of who to work with next – and in the case of his gripping action-thriller Widows, he’s been merciless in that regard drawn to the full:
- The eponymous widow gang is portrayed by Academy Award winner Viola Davis (“Fences”), Fast & Furious superstar Michelle Rodriguez, Tenet actress Elizabeth Debicki and two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”).
- He co-wrote the screenplay with Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn.
- For the supporting male roles, he was able to cast Liam Neeson (“96 Hours”), Robert Duvall (“The Godfather”), Colin Farrell (“Fantastic Beasts”), Brian Tyree Henry (“Godzilla Vs. Kong”), Jon Bernthal (“Marvel’s The Punisher”) and Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”).
When Harry (Liam Neeson) and his accomplices are killed in a robbery, his widow Veronica’s (Viola Davis) career criminal leaves a $2 million debt to local crime boss Jamal Manning (Bryan Tyree Henry). In order to raise an otherwise unaffordable sum of money, Veronica decides to put one of her late husband’s heist plans into action herself…
… with the other widows of the men from Harry’s crew: the tough Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and the initially not really enthusiastic Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) agree – and with the hairdresser Belle (Cynthia Erivo) there is also an excellent getaway driver on board. What else could go wrong?
“Widows” is a damn exciting and stylish gangster movie, who also surprises with a wonderfully evil punchline – you can’t really go wrong with that on a Monday evening.
Without sacrificing pace and excitement, Steve McQueen delivers so much more with his cinema adaptation of the British mini-series of the same name – because “Widows” is not only “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “Baby Driver”, but in its complex interplay of crime, society and politics it is also very reminiscent of the series masterpiece “The Wire”.
Because in addition to the heist itself, not only the social situation of the involuntary crooks is illuminated (you already know that well enough). Instead, the political dimension also plays a central role – because with their robbery, the widows dash head-on into the election campaign of corrupt businessman Jack Mulligan (wonderfully sleazy: Colin Farrell).
In the end, all of this comes together harmoniously: “Widows” remains first and foremost a nerve-racking robbery thriller, which also inspires as a tough milieu study and as an abysmal social satire. Of course it fits that the final punchline – as already mentioned – is also wonderfully evil.
After the film celebrated its free TV premiere on ProSieben a good year and a half ago, Sat.1 is now showing the film on August 21, 2022 at 8:15 p.m., right on time for prime time. There is also a repeat from Tuesday to Wednesday at 0.30 a.m.
If you got interested in the film but came across this article too late, you can Of course, you can also simply order “Widows – The Deadly Widows” from Amazon on DVD or Blu-ray:
» “Widows” on Blu-ray at Amazon*
The thriller is also currently part of the Amazon Prime video subscription:
» “Widows” on Amazon Prime Video*
Do you like twists and turns like Widows as much as we do? In our podcast on the screen, we extensively discussed our top 5 twists of all time. You can listen to the episode directly here:
This is a re-release of an article previously published on DashFUN. *The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.
