Widows 2019

      This film is based on the 1983 British television series of the same name.  The setting is in Chicago, Illinois.  The husbands of Veronica, Alice, Linda and Belle carry out a big heist and they are burned up in the getaway van along with the money.  Now the crime boss Jamal Manning has come to see Veronica about a payback of the $2 million dollars!!  Veronica’s husband was renowned thief Henry Rawlings and the money they took belonged to Jamal.  The suggestion is made to Veronica that she sell everything she has and this will probably be enough.  Veronica decides to handle this differently!!  She finds Henry’s notebook and there is information about his next heist in the book.  She talks to the other widows about doing this heist themselves?

      The biggest complication for the widows is that they don’t know anything about guns, pulling off a crime and not getting caught?  Veronica divides up the duties.  They need Glocks, a getaway car and somehow they need to find out where the money is located.  They have a blueprint it doesn’t mean anything to them? Complications arise when Alice goes to an auction to get the van for the getaway vehicle.  She doesn’t know how to drive so she can’t bring it back from the auction?  She is able handle getting the Glocks.  After Veronica’s driver is killed by members of Manning’s crew, she hires Belle to be their driver.  Belle can run like the wind, she's strong, she has muscles and she's street wise!!  The widows give up sitting around crying and they take action!!  4* (I really liked this movie)   

  

129 min, Crime directed by Steve McQueen with Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Coburn Goss, Alejandro vErdin, Bailey Rhyse Walter, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Molly Kunz, James Vincent Meredith.

Note:  Imdb 7 out of 10, Roger Ebert 4* Brian Tallerico, Rotten Tomatoes 91% critic 61% audience, RollingStone 4 ½* out of 5* Peter Travers, Amazon 3 ½* out of 5* with 380 reviews, Common Sense Media age 16+ 4* out of 5* Michael Ordona, Metacritic 84 out of 100 with 57 critics 7 out of 10 with 210 user scores, Independent 4* out of 5* Geoffrey Macnab, The Guardian 5* Mark Kermode.

Special Note:  Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall improvised many of their scenes as a son and father.  This is McQueen’s first feature film without Michael Fassbender in the cast.  The original cut was almost 3 hours long.  Olivia, Veronica’s dog had her own trailer on the set!!