Twisted History

The Woman King ties itself in knots trying to tell the damning story of Dahomey.

long captured the imagination of pop culture, understandably. Who could resist the idea of an all-female regiment, tough and formidable, fighting on behalf of the West African kingdom of Dahomey for three centuries? The Agojie, or variations on them, have turned up in novels, plays, and video games; in a Werner Herzog movie and the TV series Lovecraft Country; and, most notably, as an inspiration for the Dora Milaje in Black Panther, those imposing and wildly cool guardians of the fictional country of Wakanda. They lend themselves especially well to an Afrofuturist vision, these warriors seemingly out of time or at least in defiance of time’s tendency to bend toward patriarchy. Even The Woman King, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s rousing new period epic set in the 19th century, can’t help but amend the record in a wistfully Tarantino-esque act of alternate history. Its version of the Agojie, led by a brawny Viola Davis as

General Nanisca, takes up arms not just against the rival Oyo

Empire and the Mahi people the Oyo are aligned with but against the Europeans who have been buying captives from all of them and finally against the slave trade itself.

The Woman King, which was written by Dana Stevens (of Safe Haven and Fatherhood) and based on an idea that actress and producer Maria Bello pitched to Davis at an awards ceremony, can perhaps be forgiven for taking the sort of liberties with history that crowdpleasers like Braveheart and Gladiator did to considerable acclaim over two decades ago. That’s the moment of Hollywood hitmaking it harkens back to, when costume-drama sensibilities were combined with a contemporary approach to bloodshed. The Woman King introduces its characters in merciless array with Nanisca, flanked by her soldiers, rising out of the brush at night and rushing with bruising force at a group of Mahi men that has taken Dahomey prisoners. Lashana Lynch