Viola Davis empowers ‘Widows’ in twisty heist
After watching what Steve McQueen does with the heist drama in “Widows,” give him free rein to take on whatever other tried-and-true (and somewhat rote) Hollywood genre he wants to transform into a piece of high art. Romantic comedy, jukebox musical, slasher flick, whatever, let him go to town.
Directing his first film since 2014 Oscar best-picture winner “12 Years a Slave,” McQueen gives the get-a-crewtogether-and-steal-stuff concept new depth while crafting a rousing thriller with the unlikeliest of criminal sisterhoods. The excellent adaptation ( ★★★g; rated R; in theaters nationwide Friday) of a 1983 British TV series, written by Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) and featuring a murderers’ row of A-list and up-and-coming talent, is a Chicago-set yarn so taut and twisty you’ll need an oxygen tank with your popcorn.
An ambitious job goes wrong for a group of armed robbers and they die in an explosive shootout with police, though this one bad night has a seriously unfortunate aftermath for their spouses, too. Veronica Rawlins (Davis), whose husband, Harry (Liam Neeson), led the ill-fated bunch, is taken aback when she finds out he and his men stole a load of cash from local crime boss Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), who now wants his money.
Veronica finds a journal that Harry kept with plans for a heist that involves politician Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), and to pay off the debt, she decides to do the job herself. She recruits other widows left reeling by their husbands’ bad deeds, including Linda Perelli (Michelle Rodriguez), who could use her cut to save her dress shop, and Alice Gunner (Elizabeth Debicki), a Polish immigrant desperate to get away from her controlling mother (Jacki Weaver).
But McQueen and Flynn have so much more bubbling under that surface. The core women – rounded out by their muscular hairdresser ally Belle (Cynthia Erivo) – finds individual empowerment through the group dynamic, initially shaky but effectively discovering their collective strength. “No one thinks we have the balls to pull this off,” bristles Veronica.
Add to that an intriguing political angle: Manning, in an effort to go straight (at least in perception), is running for alderman in a prominently African-American district against Mulligan, the entitled son of the retiring man (Robert Duvall) who has long held sway in the area.
The success of the whole multilayered narrative hinges on Davis’ outstanding portrayal of a highly capable woman underestimated by every man around her. While she’s extremely watchable as an action heroine, flashbacks of Veronica and Harry – looking back at intimate moments as well as tragic ones – combine with rage at her beloved’s violent death to fuel the movie’s emotional undercurrent.
Oscar-nominated “Get Out” star Daniel Kaluuya is masterfully ruthless as Manning’s loyal brother and enforcer Jatemme, and Debicki (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”) gets a great breakthrough role as the submissive Alice. It’s a delight to watch this naive woman initially butt heads with Veronica and, over the course of the film, unearth her pistol-packing swagger as much as the rest of her crew.
It’s easy to fall for these “Widows” when themes of class, religion, grief, gender, injustice and race are married to terrific action sequences and a gang of looting ladies stealing the show.