Five years ago, a little historical drama called 12 Years a Slave stormed the Academy Awards. It put director Steve McQueen on the map and now he’s roaring back to the big screen with a star-studded crime thriller.
And he couldn’t have picked a better lead than How to Get Away with Murder’s Viola Davis.
Set in contemporary Chicago, Widows is the story of four women with nothing in common – played by Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, and Cynthia Erivo – except their grief over their fallen criminal husbands. They take their fate into their own hands by plot to complete a heist that took their husbands’ lives.
This drama looks to currently be the gem of the Fall Movie Season. Along with the strong female cast, this film also stars Liam Nesson as Davis’ spouse and leader of the ill-fated group, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, and Carrie Coon.
“Our husbands aren’t coming back. We’re on our own,” Davis’ lines during the trailer sets the groundwork for the story. “They stole a lot of money and now people want it from us. Now, the best thing we have going for us is being who we are.”
Why? “Because no one thinks we have the balls to pull this off,” she declares. And she’d be right.
In these types of movies, the women don’t regularly take a dominant role. But with the hopeful success of this summer’s Ocean’s 8 and the recently announced girl-gang superhero film Birds of Prey, it looks as though some directors and studios are starting a trend of women teaming up. In my opinion, this corner of the drama-action genre has not been thoroughly explored yet.
Given the U.K. native’s track record with short films, an academy award nominated film, Widows November 16 release date, and the high caliber talent of the cast, this film is already expected to be a contender in the awards trail later this year.
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