On Widows

Widows is a curious piece of work. Curious as a choice of feature film to follow up the award winning 12 Years a Slave (2013) and curious in its mix of styles and themes. As you would expect from McQueen, every frame is carefully constructed, which is what raises the material from feeling like it was made for TV. Although this comparison is perhaps only present due to Widows’ previous adaptations. Regardless, McQueen’s shot choices are masterful. Whether it is his use of mise-en-scene to build character and narrative or his shots which are stylish because he knows how to be.

Widows, as a heist film, is also curious as the heist takes a back seat to two more prominent themes. That of female empowerment and an examination of a city and politics that borders of the sociological, similar to aspects of David Simon’s The Wire (2002-2008). Firstly, this is not Ocean’s 8 (2018), where James Bond style women glide their way through an unbelievable scenario. The widows of Widows are conflicted, angry, sad and driven by a threat of violence and relative poverty. This immediately makes for a more interesting dynamic.

Familiar to the genre, Widows is full of twists and turns, but these are muted and the feeling is that McQueen wanted them to be less impactful than the larger corruption, gerrymandering politics and crime driven politics that drives the film forward, slowly and powerfully. Widows is not a heist thriller. It is far more interesting than that.