Widows (2018)

[Jake Lipson]

Title: Widows (2018)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Robert Duvall, Liam Neeson, Garret Dillahunt, Carrie Coon, Jacki Weaver, Molly Kunz, Lukas Haas, Jon Bernthal, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Matt Walsh, Kevin J. O'Connor, Michael Harney, Clare Cooney, Ann Mitchell, Deron J. Powell, Adam Wesley Brown, Wendy Mateo, Matthew Fowler, Bailee Brewer, Stephen Hill, Michael Weber, Adepero Oduye, Chuck Inglish, Henson Keys, Doug James, Laura Fisher, Stef Tovar, Bailey Rhyse Walters, Katherine Kupferer, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Deanna Reed-Foster, Paulette McDaniels, Will Zahrn, John Henry Roberts, Paul Stein, Coburn Goss, James Vincent Meredith, Patrese McClain, Jason Bradley, Keith Kupferer, Socorro Santiago, Sir Michael Rocks, Josiah Sheffie, Eric C. Lynch, Brian King, Stephen Eugene Walker, Chris Nolte, Chris Froseth, Kurt Ehrmann, Francis Florczyk, Amanda Rivera, Philip Rayburn Smith, Jon Michael Hill, Tonray Ho, Cameron Knight, Chaon Cross, Mark Lancaster, Lily Mojekwu, Tai'isha Davis, Alejandro Verdin

Release: 2018-11-16

Plot: Set in contemporary Chicago, amidst a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities take fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4218572/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_2

I searched and didn't find a thread on this already. I don't know a whole lot about this movie, but the trailer dropped today and looks good. It certainly has an impressive cast and behind-the-scenes team. Steve McQueen (director of Shame and 12 Years a Slave) directing Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, Liam Nesson, Carrie Coon, Jackie Weaver, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony for The Color Purple, in a script by Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl.) That combination of talent is enough to sell me on it.

The November 16 release date makes it counterprogramming to The Crimes of Grindlewald. Those seem different enough that this may be a good move (although it certainly didn't work for The Edge of Seventeen or Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk counterprogramming the first Fantastic Beasts.) I'll probably see both that weekend if I can.

 

[Bob Cashill]

You may need to rename this thread--no one wants to revisit WINDOWS (1980).

 

[Jake Lipson]

Actually, I can't rename the thread once there are replies. If a moderator would like to add something to distinguish this thread from previous movies, go right ahead.

 

[Dave Upton]

I went ahead and renamed it - if you want something else, just PM me.

 

[Jake Lipson]

That works just fin. Thanks Dave!

 

[Bob Cashill]

No, the title should be Widows—not Windows.

 

[Jake Lipson]

D'oh. My bad. I have no idea why I thought it was Windows -- I was multitasking petting my dog while writing that first post and must've just had a brain freeze while focusing on him. Thanks for pointing out the error, Bob.

Edit: Thanks for the fix.

 

[Jake Lipson]

New trailer dropped today:

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

This looks terrific!

 

[Jake Lipson]

Agreed.

And what a cast!

 

[Jake Lipson]

Variety has a great piece about Widow and Viola Davis:

https://variety.com/2018/film/features/viola-davis-widows-pay-gap-hollywood-1202924041/

 

[Robert Crawford]

Variety has a great piece about Widow and Viola Davis:

https://variety.com/2018/film/features/viola-davis-widows-pay-gap-hollywood-1202924041/

Yeah, I'm all in.

 

[Thomas T]

Set in Chicago, a woman (Viola Davis) living a luxurious life in a penthouse with her professional criminal husband (Liam Neeson) finds herself a widow after he is killed in a million dollar heist that goes terribly wrong. When the man (Brian Tyree Henry) her husband stole the money from gives her a month to repay him the money or else, she contacts the other widows of the men killed in the heist. Based on the novel by Lynda La Plante and directed by Steve McQueen in his first film since the Oscar winning 12 YEARS A SLAVE. Wow! All I can say is wow! Let's face it, most crime films even the most stylish and entertaining ones are usually pretty shallow. However, this being Steve McQueen, you know it's going to be more than just another heist movie and wow, does this movie deliver! Most heist films spend a lot of time on how the criminals are going to carry off their plan but McQueen minimizes that because that's not what he's really interested in. But this is still one hell of a rollercoaster ride with twists and turns you didn't see coming while investing the film with strong female characters with layered emotionally complex lives. Davis gives another fierce performance (and a prime Oscar contender) but the other actresses (Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo) are pretty spectacular too. If this film isn't a huge hit, I'll be shocked! With Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Carrie Coon, Jacki Weaver and Lukas Haas.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Widows was a tv series originally. Not a novel.

 

[Thomas T]

Widows was a tv series originally. Not a novel.

Lord Dalek, please relay this information to Simon & Schuster who published Miss La Plante's novel Widows. I don't think they got the memo. http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Widows/Lynda-La-Plante/Widows/9781499861556 If you're saying Miss La Plante wrote her novel after the 1980s British TV series, the film's credits, that may well be true. But the film bears little resemblance to the TV series outside of the general framework.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Has anybody seen this film? I'm going to see it tomorrow as my sister raved about it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Has anybody seen this film?

I did this past weekend and can't believe I forgot to post about it, since I really enjoyed it very much and would highly recommend it. My only criticism really is that it has some fat on it, and could be improved by trimming about 15 minutes or so from the running time. However, otherwise, it's a really good movie. It's a slower-paced character piece than the marketing might suggest, so if you're in the market for an action-heavy heist film, this might not be what you think it is. But I loved it. You really get to sit with these characters and understand them and their motivations for doing what they do, and the cast is fantastic.

Being from the author of Gone Girl, of course there are twists, but they feel genuine and well-earned, as opposed to some other films out recently which just pile twist upon twist for shock value. The way it all plays out is extremely satisfying.

 

[David Weicker]

I enjoyed it a lot.

The only thing that I wish they had included was

Spoiler

some resolution with Manning and his 2million. He was not even referenced in the tying up scenes.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Regarding David's above spoiler:

Spoiler

I agree that was kind of a gaping hole since having to pay Manning back is the whole reason Veronica decided to pull the heist in the first place. However, I guess we're supposed to assume that she paid him off, which she said she was going to do and would be the only logical reason for him not to bother her again. I do agree we needed to see it, though, and will be curious if they explain on a commentary or something why it such a scene wasn't included.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Has anybody seen this film? I'm going to see it tomorrow as my sister raved about it.

I loved it. I'd probably put it in my Top 10 for the year.