Queen & Slim

"Queen & Slim" is I think the perfect example of a movie that's greater than the sum of its parts.

There are many individual moments in the film that don't hold up under scrutiny. But when experienced as a whole, the film exerts a kind of poetic power. It's equal parts sorrow and rage at the treatment of African Americans in the United States, and having watched it after the George Floyd murder (even though the film came out before it), it's impossible not to understand the actions and motivations of the Bonnie and Clyde couple at the film's center.

It's certainly overheated and histrionic at times, but these are overheated and histrionic moments we're experiencing in our country right now, and I don't want movies, especially movies about race, to play it safe. I want them to be angry, to scream and shout and swear, to have muscle and teeth, and so the energy blazing off the screen from this movie felt right for the moment.

My favorite scene is the one where Slim comments on how beautiful the countryside of rural America is as they're driving through it, and Queen, who casually glances at a prison work gang in a field made up of all black men that could easily pass for a group of field slaves from the Civil War-era South, replies, "Is it?"

Grade: A-

I don't even want to review this movie, but it hasn't even come out and somehow half of the ratings are one star. The movie itself is pretty great and I'd highly recommend you go see it when it comes out. The acting is very strong, the directing feels very fresh/unique, and you really grow to care about the film's romance. The political statements this movie makes are secondary to the story of these well-fleshed out characters and their struggles, which makes the commentary resonate stronger than many other movies like this. It ain't perfect --it's a bit long, especially when considering the repetitive structure of the story, and the shot composition is a bit boring but this is a movie that everyone should go and see. And jesus, I don't know how it would be possible, butcan you not find a way to weed out the people who review-bomb movies with strong political messages/that have minorities or women in the leading roles? Christ.

With the current climate around the world at the moment regarding the George Floyd protests, now seemed like as good a time as any to finally check out 'Queen and Slim'. The opening to this movie is incredible. We meet the characters in a diner, get to know them a little, and then an event takes place after they are pulled over by the police. This entire sequence is exquisite. It's tense, unpredictable and powerful. At this point I thought I was in for a masterpiece of a film. Unfortunately it wasn't able to maintain that momentum and fell apart a little later on, but the film is worthing watching for that opening alone.

Another aspect of the film I loved was the feeling that anything could happen. Nothing felt off the cards in this movie. It could end in any fashion whatsoever across the full range of the spectrum. I love it when films have that going for it. Where this film lets itself is that it becomes a love story and I just didn't buy it for a second. These were two pretty horrendous people who clearly drove each other reasonably crazy, and the film even goes out of its way to show us this, and yet we are supposed to believe that they are the love of each other's lives? No sale on that one sorry.

The film raises a lot of moral debates. Should people who kill police officers be treated as heroes? Is it okay to resist arrest if you don't think the arrest is justified? Is it okay to then go out and rob and steal, simply because you are on the run? Is it okay to treat people who are trying to help you very rudely? People could debate these things for decades to come, and it likely won't be the friendliest of debates which is why I have no interest in partaking in them, but the fact is the movie provides those talking points for people to have. 'Queen and Slim' is a very well made film, that just goes off the rails a little in terms of its characters likability and believability, particularly in the second half. I'd say it is worth a watch, but don't get your hopes up too high after that amazing opening.

Divisive, controversial, and thought provoking, Queen & Slim is exactly the type of movie that people who complain about the lack of originality in Hollywood need to see. And for the most part, the movie succeeds at being an immersive crime thriller that never quite stops to take a full breath without rushing you back into more conflict. There are however, specific directing choices that I thought were completely unnecessary and almost repulsive, because the message that was trying to be conveyed was already there in subtext. For some people that style may work, for others Queen & Slim may be too controversial. It's the type of film that I appreciate the craft more than I actually like the movie itself. But it should be seen nonetheless.

7.0/10

Having seen this a few weeks ago, I was a blank slate going into it. Obviously I was familiar with Daniel Kaluuya, from Get Out and Black Panther and had read the film was a first time directorial effort (on this scale) but had no other preconceptions about it.

I was pleasantly surprised by just how accomplished it was. The film looks gorgeous. The cast all deliver on what feels like a fairly loose screenplay in keeping with the indie spirit of the film. Yes some plot points feel a little contrived in order to move the story on but nothing so bad that it derails the film.

The film very much reminds me of Badlands and to a lesser extent True Romance in its dreamier sequences, as the camera does an expert job of capturing the furtive glances and subconscious body language of the two protagonists deepening relationship. This is aided by an excellent soundtrack and the aforementioned top notch cinematography.

Special note to the landscape of Florida itself which as the film moves from the tight, dark confines of the city to the hot, wide open vistas serves as visual metaphor for the journey of the central characters.

It's hard enough (in 2020) to view anything outwith the prism of politics, and even harder with a film that touches on the tragedy of the black experience in modern America for some. If even the user reviews here are anything to go by, those of a caucasian persuasion (as i am) feel aggrieved at how white cops are portrayed. Forgetting that there are many incidents of "malpractice" every week and that this is a movie. Also there are plenty of films about honest, good police officers.

I would urge people to watch the film and see this is not the central point of the film. Nor does it make any strong judgement call one way or another. It simply uses what is a tragically all too common occurrence to light the spark of the story. Then holds up a lens to how that type of incident could play out. No real grandstanding, more a welcome subversion of the fugitive /romance genre from a different perspective.

It's a film that doesn't force its message or feel it has to show black people railing against injustice or overt oppression and overcoming all the odds. It just shows two people on the run, trying to survive.

As Slim says in one of the film's many great lines. "Why do black people have to be excellent, why can't we just be ourselves".