WIDOWS

Viola Davis     Liam Neeson     Robert Duvall     Colin Farrell     Michelle Rodriguez

Elizabeth Debieki     Cynthia Erivo     Brian Tyree Henry     Daniel Kaluuya

     Hold onto your seat; despite the leading title, this movie will keep you on edge—and on your toes—throughout the two-hours-plus time.  Rapid cuts between love scenes and major crime in the beginning shake you and disorient you, and then you must figure out who are all the characters thrown at you in the first few minutes.  

     Basically, if you’ve seen the previews, you know that the widow of a slain criminal contacts the other widows of her husband’s accomplices with a plan to secure their future after she finds the notebook he made sure she would get. As happens a lot in this film with men and women, he has underestimated her feminine wiles and will.

     In a role made for her, Viola Davis as Veronica uses her head after she is threatened by a rival gang, the Manning brothers (Henry and Kaluuya), who demand money from her that her husband Harry Rawlings (Neeson) stole.  Jamal Manning is determined to join the wealthy of the world, using his brother Jatemme as a fearsome hit man with no limits as to what he will do.  

     Corruption in city government is intertwined with criminal elements, assuring that interconnections among the characters will inevitably occur.  For example, Tom Mulligan (Duvall) and his son Jack (Farrell) are corrupt city officials who mete out city contracts to their friends.  Jack is currently running for city comptroller against Jamal Manning. All of them were well acquainted with Harry Rawlings when he was alive.  

     The main characters in this well-conceived plot are after the money that is now missing (burned up?) from the Rawlings caper that went down.  You will know who, if any, will end up with it only after many thrills and chills along the way.  The women occupy the stage most of the time, and actually, the men don’t come across well at all.  We see honor and care among the women who are following in their husband’s footsteps, but not in the same way.  The male characters are shown to be duplicitous, violent, and reactionary. 

     Writer-director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Shame) and screenwriter Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) based the movie on the popular British television series written by Lynda La Plante of Prime Suspect fame.  With this much talent, it’s not surprising that their production is of such high quality.  No cheap thrills here, every inch of it is solid and has internal consistency and believability.  Hans Zimmer’s score and Sean Bobbitt’s cinematography provide an additional degree of excellence.

     Quotable quotes:  “You reap what you sow”; the reply:  “I hope so” and “If something goes wrong, I want my kids to know that I didn’t just sit there.” 

For an exciting, invigorating, suspense-filled evening go see Widows.

Grade:  A                                                  By Donna R. Copeland

GET OUT

Allison Williams     Daniel Kaluua     Bradford Whitford     Catherine Keener     Caleb Landry Jones

      Get Out is a freak-out not long after the film begins.  It starts cozy enough with two young people in love, Chris (Kaluuya) and Rose (Williams).  She’s about to introduce him to her family, which creates a hint of anxiety in him because he’s black and she’s white.  “No problem”, she says; she hasn’t told them, but they’re liberal parents (“My father would have voted for Obama the third time”) and will be accepting.  Her father is a neurosurgeon and her mother a psychiatrist. 

      They arrive at her parents’ home, a beautiful mansion with forested acreage—no other home in sight.  Dean (Whitford) and Missy (Keener) greet them warmly, though a bit oddly.  Chris gets just a twinge of unease, but this is heightened when the brother Jeremy (Jones) arrives and clearly challenges Chris with racial undertones. 

      As the weekend proceeds, numerous meetings and happenstances occur, such as Chris meeting “the help”, two black people, one a groundskeeper and the other a housekeeper; a large traditionally hosted party, with wealthy guests who see Chris and immediately mention a black person they know (example:  A golfer says, “I know Tiger!”); and, significantly, an older woman with a much younger, vacant-eyed black escort who, at times, resembles a performing monkey.  Horrified, Chris recognizes him as someone who went missing recently in his hometown.

      What follows is truly horrific, and will astonish you, repel you, and actually scare you (not something that happens to me much in horror films).  Chris is caught in a web he could not have possibly imagined from his earlier blissful days with Rose.  Who are these people and what are they about?

     For his debut directorial feature, Jordan Peele, can be proud.  He has written a real thriller that is exciting and thrilling, but importantly has socio-cultural elements that make us pause and think.  It’s a window through which we see how white people try to befriend black people, while demonstrating underlying prejudices in the process.  The hoot at the end is that Peele turns the tables by showing white people lusting after “black” (stereotypical) characteristics.

      I always love seeing Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford playing their characters so true and entertaining, and they’ve done it once again here.  They have talent for giving a veneer of wealth, fine breeding and cordiality overlaying dark and mysterious aims.  Daniel Kaluuya carries the weight of the suspenseful story, and does it well, showing the transition from affability, good nature, and curiosity, to desperation.  Allison Williams shows her talent in portraying an upper class young woman who appears to have crossed the racial boundaries. 

      I did have a problem with this film.  Hypnosis is a legitimate, often extremely effective treatment but with mythologies surrounding it.  Get Out exploits these in the interest of enhancing horror, and while that is clearly effective, it perpetuates fears about hypnosis that are ungrounded.  I wish Jordan Peele had figured out another clever way to manipulate the characters in his film.

A thriller that addresses racial sensitivities.  Be prepared to see a genuine horror unfold.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland