Review of Widows (2018) by Philat — 24 Nov 2018

Why do critics rave about Widows while many ordinary viewers don’t? Critics love innovation, complexity, unusual camera shots and plot twists which Widows provides in quantity. More casual viewers want to have a sense of what going on as they watch the movie.

Yet the plot of Widows is simple: a gang led by Harry Rawlins ( Liam Neeson) in the opening scene get killed in an attempted heist, highlighted by exploding automobiles careening towards the police. Rawlins wife (Viola Davis) discovers that money taken in the heist is to repay crime boss Jamal Manning (Brian Tryee Henry) who visits her and demands that the 2 million be repaid within the month; which leads the widows, led by Davis, to decide to carry out a heist based on plans left behind by Rawlins.

Normal result is heist is carried out, crime boss repaid or killed, and life, maybe, returns to normal. Not here. Twists, double-crosses, and devious machinations are introduced with the notable cast garlanding their conversations with multiple F-words and their variations.

Since the scene is Chicago, politics is involved from very rich and cranky Robert Duvall playing an aging pol still calling shots, his son Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) running for alderman against black crime boss Manning.

For ordinary viewers, this is one movie where one might want to read in advance the outlines of the plot before viewing the film. Overall, there’s fine acting, unusual camera shots, and occasional action to satisfy most—though there are long stretches of the movie which seem to be grinding gears rather than moving ahead.