Widows is an action drama directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by McQueen and Gillian Flynn, based upon the 1983 ITV series of the same name. Widows is a British-American co-production. The plot follows a group of women who attempt a heist in order to pay back a crime boss after their criminal husbands are killed during a botched job. I was thrilled to see Widows, as I heard it received raved reviews and 93% rotten tomatoes. They were right, Widows deserved every good review it received.
Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) is a renowned thief who is killed alongside his partners, Carlos Perelli (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), Florek Gunner (Jon Bernthal) and Jimmy Nunn (Coburn Goss), during a botched robbery. Harry’s widow, Veronica Rawlings (Viola Davis), a Chicago teacher’s union delegate, is threatened by crime boss turned politician, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), from whom Harry and his partners robbed $2 million. Jamal is running against Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), the son of the incumbent, Tom Mulligan (Robert Duvall) and needs money to help win the election.
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Veronica discovers Harry’s notebook, which contains a detailed plan for what would have been his next heist, worth $5 million. She decides to carry out the heist to repay his debt to Jamal who has his blood thirsty brother, Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya) watching the women’s every move. Veronica recruits two of the other widows, Alice gunner (Elizabeth Debicki) and Linda Perelli (Michelle Rodriguez), to assist her. Since the fourth widow, Amanda Nunn (Carrie Coon), didn’t show to their initial meeting, Veronica visits her and learns she has a newborn child, so she opts not to mention nor include her in the heist. Alice is responsible for buying the getaway car and guns, while Linda is tasked with deciphering the blueprint in Harry’s plan. Alice uses David (Lukas Haas), a real estate executive who identifies the blueprint as a safe in Jack Mulligan’s home. In the meanwhile, looking for information, Veronica’s chauffeur, Bash O’Reilly (Garret Dillahunt) is murdered by one of Manning’s men. Linda recruits Belle (Cynthia Erivo), her children’s babysitter, to be their driver and Veronica visits the Mulligan home to ask Jack for protection from Jamal and to case the premises in advance of the heist, while the other women investigate the external security.
Obviously, I really enjoyed Widows. The cast were the crème de la crème of actors who played their roles with outstanding precision. The plot heats up with an intensity that will keep you guessing to the very surprise ending. Widows has more twist and turns than you can imagine. The style and flow of Widows reminds me of “How to Get Away With Murder”, only much more understandable. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a good suspense feature with lots of twist, action and excitement. Check it Out!!!
This is going to be a tough one to critique. I absolutely hated the ending. It rendered the entire movie irrelevant. The ending made everything unbelievable. Many of us in the theater shouted “this ending sucks” all at once. What a good movie with excellent acting all the way through, until the credits started rolling across the screen. Ben Affleck’s character is married to Rosamund Pike’s character. She turns up missing and presumed murdered. Of course the husband (Affleck) is accused as circumstantial evidence piles up against him. I couldn’t wait for the end to see if I had successfully guessed what would happen. If Gone Girl had an ending, I would have been happy no matter what happened. I successfully figured out much of the outcome during the film, as it had many twist and turns. However, nothing prepared me for the dreaded finale that never came. So much hype, so many trailers, so many opinions about how good Gone Girl is — the box office hype alone was enough to cause you to run off to the theater to see it. What a disappointment. What a waste of talent. I can’t imagine anyone was happy with this ending. I can’t really say much because I wouldn’t want to spoil what little there is to enjoy. I should have read this book before seeing the movie — that way, I wouldn’t be so disappointed. All I can say is WAIT FOR THE DVD. Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry who didn’t add nearly enough substance, Neil Patrick Harris and Carrie Coon all acted their butts off toward a very sour ending.
CAROL's WORLDS 