(Cert 15, 130 mins)
Desperate times demand resourceful women in Widows, a glossy heist thriller based on the 1980s TV series created by Lynda LaPlante.
The script, by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn and director Steve McQueen, transplants the intrigue and betrayal from London to Chicago’s gleaming apartments and deprived neighbourhoods.
The writers have sharp ears for snappy dialogue — “I’m in the driving seat, I just don’t have a set of wheels”; “He should have loved you more and the bookies less” — and position powerful female protagonists at the centre of a muscular film that might otherwise be heavy on testosterone.
Two breathlessly staged robberies bookend the picture, but it’s a slow burn in between as the plot manoeuvres characters into position for a blood-spattered end game like pawns on a chessboard.
McQueen cannot resist attention-grabbing flourishes.
A politician’s journey home by car from a campaign appearance could be accomplished without fanfare. Instead, the Oscar-winning director of 12 Years A Slave captures the drive in a single fluid take, seemingly positioning his lens on the car bonnet while we listen to a heated conversation in the back seat. It’s impressive camerawork but rather indulgent, and such excesses contradict the central female character’s assertion that a group of women can pull off a robbery because they go unnoticed about their lives.
Career criminal Harry Rawlins (Liam Neeson) spearheads the theft of two million dollars with Florek Gunner (Jon Bernthal), Carlos Perelli (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Jimmy Nunn (Coburn Goss).
The job goes sour and the robbers perish in an acetylene-fuelled fireball along with the money.
Shortly after Harry’s wife Veronica (Viola Davis) buries her husband, she receives a visit from crime boss Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry).
He is up for election against Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), son of crooked politician Tom Mulligan (Robert Duvall). Jamal claims Harry stole the two million dollars from him and he wants Veronica to replace it or suffer.
Armed with plans for Harry’s next robbery, Veronica assembles a new crew including Carlos’s wife Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Florek’s wife Alice (Elizabeth Debicki).
Widows is a stylish portrait of crime and punishment, distinguished by spirited performances from Davis, Rodriguez and Debicki.
Strip away McQueen’s brio and what remains is a high quality, conventional thriller with a couple of satisfying narrative twists.
Damon Smith