Plot: Four women decide to takeover the roles of their dead husbands and complete an incomplete heist.

A director's first film after winning Best Picture with their previous film is always a tough predicament to be in. The hype naturally goes into overdrive and you're likely to be in a lose-lose situation and it's rare to go back-to-back Best Picture wins.


That being said, I was still excited to see the story sounded interesting, the cast is strong and it's it's
it' on a Gillian Flynn book, who also wrote Gone Girl, my film of 2014.


It starts off strong with a pretty intense scene and I was already seeing McQueen's style being incorporated with the long tracking shots and the impressive practical effects.
After that, it was scene after scene of major actor being introduced that amazed at the ensemble list that was involved. The way the story kept branching out gave us plenty to get our teeth into. It certainly had me intrigued to see how it would all come together.
After everything boiling up, we get to the point that everyone is here for. It's most definitely tense, thrilling, dramatic and with a satisfying finale.


As mentioned before, the cast is quite cast and all did a great job in intensifying the story. Viola Davis was a strong lead and her screen power continues to make have a very engaging presence.
Elizabeth Debicki was a nice stand-out. After seeing her potential in The Cloverfield Paradox earlier this year, Debicki is starting to fully utilise her talent in this latest venture. Also having a breakthrough year is Cynthia Erivo. After many seeing her as the stand-out in Bad Times At The El Royale, Erivo showed a different kind of strength she possesses in this. The quality Erivo showed in this could see her become a major action star.
It was great seeing Daniel Kaluuya play such a despicable character. There was an intimidating presence about him and his ruthless intent of getting what his character needed was great to see. Kaluuya is showing great variety and is becoming one of the top British actors of the our generation.
Colin Farrell may not have been exceptional. But even him being good is plenty to be entertained by. He played the manipulating politician really well. You can tell that it was a role that he could do in his sleep.
Bryan Tyree Henry was a great addition. I've never seen him in anything and his memorable performance wanted me to see more of him and will in a few months in 'If Beale Street Could Talk'.
Also doing a solid job were Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Needing and Robert Duvall.


The rest of the positives mainly came from the general look of it. Giving it similarities to Gone Girl is too easy. But I feel it still needs to be commented on. Gillian Flynn looks to adapted well into the making as striking as her successful novel. I always welcome authors contributing to making the transition of their source material to different mediums.
I was surprised to notice the general look of the film was similar to Gone Girl. With David Fincher directing that, and McQueen at the helm of Widows, I was not expecting to find so many comparisons with. Either that, or maybe Flynn has more an influence then in just the writing department?


No major negatives to speak of, just a few small ones. As much as the final act was impactful, it did feel rushed for me. Cutting down the already stretched first two acts I feel would have made the final act more memorable and maintaining the steady brewing flow we had in the first two-thirds of the film.


On the whole, I really enjoyed this tense and thrilling crime drama. The story was well crafted with some nice twists and many strong set-pieces.
All the cast were great and McQueen played to his strengths well. It's not quite up there with the best of the year, but it came very close. But don't let that previous comment put you off. This is still a highly entertaining piece of work and another strong addition to McQueen's high-calibre back-catalogue.


Rating: 8/10