Despite being messy, overstuffed, slow, and undercooked all at once, Widows does make a strong case for two different kinds of movies that we desperately need, one being the female-dominant action thriller that can both be taken seriously AND doesn't bludgeon the viewer with half-baked socio-political buzztalk, and the other being the sensitive action film that takes time for real emotional drama while still delivering the breakneck tension and brutal violence that puts butts in seats. In final execution, Widows is less than the sum of its parts, barely eligible for being called a good movie. In its bones, however, is the potential for very interesting filmmaking, and I'd even be interested to see director Steve McQueen try a second time at this kind of film to see if he can truly get it right.
Beginning with a heist gone wrong, a group of male criminals are killed when their getaway vehicle explodes with them inside. (This happens two minutes into the film. Anyone attending the movie because they saw the always-wonderful Jon Bernthal in the trailer is bound to be disappointed—he's instantly fried.) Leading the crew was Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson), a master thief whose perfectionist approach to his work had kept him and his private life afloat until this final mistake. In the wake of the fatal, foiled plot, these men's families are left broken and incomplete. Rawlings' wife, Veronica (Viola Davis), inherits the debt her husband owed to corrupt district attorney candidate Jamal Manning, who needs his money to support his campaign for office. Given a deadline of one month to come up with the $2 million debt, Veronica seeks out and enlists the other theives' widows to pull off the next heist Harry had planned in his notes. Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki are Linda and Alice, respectively. Linda is independent and ran her own business, resentful of her husband's sketchy profession; Alice, on the other hand, has clearly never had to be self-sufficient, and rather just relied on her abusive husband's substantial takes from heists. Both are hesitant to help Veronica, until she makes clear how they could be in danger if Manning doesn't get his money. The three begin devising their plan, eventually recruiting Linda's babysitter Belle, played by Cynthia Erivo, whose innate acting chops and unique character design would have stolen the show, had she gotten more screen time. Meanwhile, the film interjects political rivalry between Manning and his opponent, Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), who is running to replace his father (Robert Duvall) in the office and has his own nefarious dealings to hide.
To get the positives across first, Widows is well-shot and well-acted, with smartly, tightly constructed individual sequences. Viola Davis's steely gaze and confident delivery commands most of her scenes, as she essentially has to play Mom for the two less-resolute widows during the planning of their heist. Davis also shows off her routine ability to switch on a dime, exposing the broken, grieving woman beneath the surface. Debicki convincingly navigates the immaturity and inexperience of Alice, who hops from one abusive man to another. Michelle Rodriguez landed the least interesting role of the three, but that's due more to Linda being written very straight in the script; regardless, she does a fine job and puts the best parts of a typical Michelle Rodriguez performance on display. Liam Neeson also puts in good work, in the limited amount of time he's on screen; despite the brief appearances, it might be his best performance in a mainstream release in years. (Actually, I take that back. He was better in the Coen Brothers' new Ballad of Buster Scruggs. I reviewed that too; go check it out.) Daniel Kaluuya is devilishly fun to watch as the brutal Jatemme, Jamal Manning's brother and personal mercenary—a very different role from the one that made him famous in Get Out. Colin Farrell is perfunctory in the role of Mulligan, but it's not like the script calls for anything impressive. There's a nicely done argument scene between him and Duvall as his father, even if it does feel irrelevant to the actual plot of the film.
The actual heist, when the film gets around to it, is brief but envigorating. McQueen captures the tension and uncertainty that the unseasoned widows are experiencing, and a combination of claustrophobic handheld shots and nicely framed wides make the sequence visually interesting as well. Generally, Widows is a pretty movie; its polished, glassy look and strong contrast make it easy to look at even when its boring, though the film rarely takes full advantage of talented cinematographer Sean Bobbitt.
The problem Widows continually runs into is a lack of focus—or rather, too heavy a focus on too many different, unrelated things. Why the political goings-on between Manning and Mulligan get so much of the film's runtime is beyond me; the film is called Widows, and it is about widows who are A) grieving, and B) taking control of their circumstances by pulling off their late husbands' last job. Politics are not important; they are there to serve as a background on which the story is told—they should not be the story themselves. Why we are subjected to extended scenes of family drama, racial commentary, and criminal corruption starring the film's minor characters is beyond me. Additionally, the film is simply balancing too many ideas, leaving the emotional drama and core themes muddled and unclear. As mentioned, racial commentary and political corruption are stacked on top of concepts of grief, revenge, domestic abuse, relational trust, feminism, and self-reliance... in a heist movie. There are simply too many different characters, themes, and scenes. It's an awkward, uneven, and altogether undercooked pile of ideas, none of which work to their fullest and half of which don't fit in the movie at all. It's like someone randomly grabbing items from the fridge and making a casserole.
Where the film works is in two specific areas: 1.) it makes these women not only empathetic and multidimensional but also badass and fun to watch work, and 2.) constructing a light-action heist film with the sensibility to let emotional drama take up time. It's unfortunate that those two dynamics couldn't have been fitted into a better, more streamlined film, but the amount of praise it's getting, however misguided, makes me hopeful that this kind of story becomes more popular in Hollywood. This one might be worth a matinee, or more likely, a rainy-day rental or stream sometime down the line.