BFI LFF 2018: Widows ****

“Curious”, is how those of us who remember the Brit TV series based on Lynda La Plante’s novel were about news of a Steve McQueen-directed movie version. Relieved perhaps that Viola Davis was taking the lead. Such a powerful female-driven story needs a strong female lead. And Davis does not disappoint.

The story follows what happens next to the widows of a criminal gang, whose members are killed after one last job together. Veronica (Davis), the wife of the gang’s leader, comes up with a survival plan, after the women’s lives are threatened.

When it comes to current topical affairs and everyday living struggles, the La Plante story is abundant big-screen material. You empathize fully with the protagonists, also brilliantly fleshed out and portrayed by Michelle Rodriguez (working mum Linda) and Elizabeth Debicki (trophy wife Alice), even though the story has been transferred to the States.

Davis is as stoic as she is vulnerable, a remarkable gift the actor brings to every role that makes her so fascinating. There is very dark humour laced in parts too, that keeps a healthy dose of the ‘ironic’ of events in progress.

McQueen is a master at character struggle and drawing this out on screen. This is still very much apparent, though snappier pace, designed to fit the crime caper set in politically-charged Chicago. Even Colin Farrell’s seemingly impenetrable dirty politician character, Jack Mulligan, who comes from a family of corrupt politicians is not immune. No character has it easy in a McQueen film and therefore, gets rewarded with a meaty story arc for their woe.

It is this fight for survival, coupled with an urgency that makes Widows the movie an apt fit for McQueen’s filmmaking skills. Look out for it at awards season – it will pay off for the British director.

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