The flicks
A huge price to pay by the end of the mourning in WIDOWS; while ROBIN HOOD always draws a long bow, but often lacks aim
DIRECTOR: Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) STARRING: Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver RATING:
AMAGNIFICENT high-concept heist movie, Widows is adapted from the excellent 1983 British TV miniseries by acclaimed crime author Lynda La Plante. While the story has been modified slightly — the setting is now the politically and racially charged America of 2018 — the essential gist and inevitable impact of the tale remains exactly the same. Should you make the mistake of missing
Widows, and you will be depriving yourself of one of the most memorable films of this year.
The story begins with three elite criminals (led by Liam Neeson) coming to an unseemly end when an elaborate robbery goes horribly wrong. The three women they leave behind have little time to grieve. A ruthless Chicago crime lord wants the millions that went missing in that ill-fated job, and gives the ladies a deadline to cough up the dough, or else.
Though completely inexperienced as crooks, Veronica (Viola Davis), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) have no choice but to toughen up and take the plunge as high-stakes thieves.
“We have a lot of work to do,” declares Veronica, the nominal leader of the fledgling gang. “Crying isn’t on the list.”
She isn’t kidding around. The to-do list facing these desperate newbies is as long as it is daunting.
Largely because there is only one job they can feasibly execute within the tight time frame facing them: a hit-run stick-up based on an unfinished blueprint sketched out by Veronica’s late spouse.
Further heightening the degree of difficulty is the unavoidable fact the gang’s predicament
ROBIN HOOD (M) DIRECTOR: Otto Bathurst (feature debut) STARRING: Taron Egerton, Ben Mendelsohn, Jamie Foxx, Jamie Dornan, Tim Minchin, Eve Hewson RATING:
THIS umpteenth run-through of the ancient Robin Hood legend (spoiler alert: he robs from the rich, and gives to the poor) gets a reckless remixing for modern audiences.
What emerges is one never-ending mood swing of a movie, excitingly overblown one minute, and erratically underdone the next. Taron Egerton (the cheeky upstart from the
Kingsman flicks) is Robin of Loxley, a spoiled toff drafted against his will to fight for England in the Crusades.
The extended combat sequence that establishes Robin’s athletic proficiency with a bow and arrow is a true highlight of the film, with first-time director Otto Bathurst staging the chaos and carnage like a 12th century version of American Sniper.
It is also here, while his company must brutally deal with their prisoners of war, that Robin makes the acquaintance of a fearless enemy soldier named Yahya (Jamie Foxx).
Once back on home turf — with Yahya inexplicably trailing close behind — Robin is mighty will drag them into the force field of one of Chicago’s most corrupt and connected families (of which the great Robert Duvall is the patriarch, and Colin Farrell his devious son and heir).
Behind the cameras, Widows has some pedigree talent calling the shots, and they do not rest on the laurels of their hard-earned reputations.
Director Steve McQueen ( 12 Years a Slave) and screenwriter Gillian Flynn ( Gone Girl) are always hustling for greater things from both the sensational source material and an electrifying ensemble cast. peeved to learn everyone thought he was dead, and that some have taken unfair advantage of the situation.
Now a subversive man of the people, Robin plots his revenge against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn having a hell of a hammy time of it) while winning back his exgirlfriend Maid Marian (Eve Hewson) from the clutches of her new boyfriend (Jamie ‘ Fifty
Shades’ Dornan). Had Robin Hood more or less stopped the plot right there, it would have had less problems to deal with in the long run.
Unfortunately, the inclusion of a raft of naff secondary characters (including an awfully miscast Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck) and an annoying subplot about how Robin acquired his ‘Hood’ moniker sends the movie down a number of narrative dead ends.
By virtue of Egerton’s selective appeal as a leading man — his performance here is like Sam Worthington under the influence of too much coffee and not enough sleep — it is left to a grandstanding, self-parodying Mendelsohn to reverse Robin Hood out of trouble whenever he can.
Overall, the well-crafted action sequences of Robin Hood have a wacky intensity that might win you over sometimes, but a scrappy, pappy story will almost certainly lose you over and over again.
The riveting interplay between the core trio of Davis, Rodriguez and Debicki — all sure to be in Oscars contention this awards season — is further boosted by slashing support turns from the likes of Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya (a disturbing standover man), Bad Times at the El Royale’s Cynthia Erivo (a hairdresser moonlighting as the gang’s getaway driver) and our own Jacki Weaver (Alice’s pessimistically pragmatic mum).
The exemplary results achieved by Widows are there for all to see, and to be utterly knocked out by.