Story of movie Widows 2018 Film : Widows is a 2018 heist film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by McQueen and Gillian Flynn, based upon the 1983 ITV series of the same name. A British-American co-production, the film features an ensemble cast consisting of Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson. The plot follows a group of women who attempt a heist in order to pay back a crime boss after their criminal husbands are killed on a botched job.
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| Directed by | Steve McQueen |
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| Based on | Widows by Lynda La Plante |
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| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography | Sean Bobbitt |
| Edited by | Joe Walker |
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Running time | 129 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $42 million |
| Box office | $22.8 million |
The film was announced in March 2015, with Davis joining the cast in September 2016. The rest of the cast was added in the next several months, and filming began in Chicago in May 2017.
Widows premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, was released in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2018 and in the United States on November 16, by 20th Century Fox. The film received praise from critics for its direction, screenplay, editing, score and the performances of the cast, particularly Davis, Debicki and Kaluuya, and grossed $20 million worldwide.
Screenplay
Harry Rawlings, a renowned thief, is killed alongside his partners Carlos, Florek, and Jimmy during a botched robbery. His widow, Veronica, is threatened by crime boss Jamal Manning, from whom Harry and his partners robbed $2 million. Manning needs the money to finance his electoral campaign for alderman of a South Side precinct, where he is running against Jack Mulligan, the son of the incumbent Tom Mulligan.
Veronica discovers Harry's notebook, which contains a detailed plan for a heist worth $5 million. She decides to carry out the plan to repay her debt to Jamal, and recruits two of the other widows, Alice and Linda, to assist her. The fourth widow, Amanda, does not show at their initial meeting; when Veronica visits Amanda and learns she has a newborn child, she opts not to mention the heist plan to her. Alice buys the getaway car and guns, while Linda is tasked with deciphering a blueprint in Harry's plan; Alice uses David, a real estate executive with whom she in a transactional relationship, to identify it as a safe in Jack Mulligan's home.
When Veronica's chauffeur Bash is murdered by the Mannings, Linda recruits Belle, her children’s babysitter, to be their driver. Veronica visits the Mulligan home to ask Jack for protection from Manning (a request he rebuffs) and to case the premises in advance of the heist, while the other women investigate the external security. Veronica acquires the code to the safe by blackmailing the CEO of the Mulligans' security company, using incriminating photographs left in Harry's notebook.
The group commence the heist but are interrupted by Tom, who shoots and wounds Alice; they return fire, killing him. They escape with the money, but are double-crossed by Jamal, whose brother Jatemme steals the money from them. The group chase Jatemme down, running him off the road and killing him, before retrieving the money. The group splits up and goes their separate ways, with Veronica returning to the hideout. Harry, who had faked his death and set up his partners after being hired by Jack, arrives at the hideout to take the money from Veronica so that he can build a new life with Amanda, whose child is his. Veronica kills Harry after he attacks her.
Jack wins the election on a wave of public sympathy following his father's murder. Linda reacquires the store she lost upon her husband's death, Alice sets up her own business, and Belle moves away. Veronica donates much of her share to endow a library project in her deceased son's memory. Veronica and Alice encounter each other in a diner; they initially ignore each other, but Veronica approaches Alice outside, smiling.
- Viola Davis as Veronica Rawlings, a Chicago teacher's union delegate and Harry's wife.
- Michelle Rodriguez as Linda Perelli, a clothing store owner
- Elizabeth Debicki as Alice Gunner
- Cynthia Erivo as Belle, a babysitter and beautician who looks after Linda's children that works with Veronica's group.
- Colin Farrell as Jack Mulligan, a politician who finds himself mixed up in the widows' plans.
- Brian Tyree Henry as Jamal Manning, a crime boss and politician to whom the widows are indebted.
- Daniel Kaluuya as Jatemme Manning, Jamal's brother and mob enforcer.
- Jacki Weaver as Agnieska, Alice's abusive mother.
- Carrie Coon as Amanda Nunn, a widow who isn't involved in the robbery due to being too busy with her newborn baby.
- Robert Duvall as Tom Mulligan, Jack's father and a power broker at odds with his son.
- Liam Neeson as Harry Rawlings, Veronica's husband and a renowned bank robber with connections to politicians.
- Garret Dillahunt as Bash O'Reilly, the Rawlings family chauffeur.
- Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Carlos Perelli, Linda's husband who is a gambler and one of Harry's partners.
- Jon Bernthal as Florek Gunner, Alice's abusive husband and one of Harry's partners.
- Coburn Goss as Jimmy Nunn, Amanda's husband and one of Harry's partners.
- Molly Kunz as Siobhan, Jack's young campaign manager.
- Michael Harney as Sgt. Fuller, a corrupt cop involved in a conspiracy.
- Lukas Haas as David, a real estate worker who Alice sells herself to following Florek's death.
- Matt Walsh as Ken, the CEO of a security company
- Kevin J. O'Connor as Bobby Welsh
- Adepero Oduye as Breechelle
- Ann Mitchell as Amanda's mother
- Chuck Inglish as Darius
- Sir Michael Rocks as Malik
On March 27, 2015, the project was announced to be in development with a script written by Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen, with McQueen attached to direct. In September 2016, Viola Davis joined the cast. Additionally, it was reported that Jennifer Lawrence was approached for a role, but, due to scheduling conflicts, she had to decline. In November 2016, Cynthia Erivo joined the cast. In January 2017, André Holland entered in negotiations to join the cast. In February 2017, Elizabeth Debicki (cast in the role Lawrence declined), Michelle Rodriguez, and Daniel Kaluuya joined the cast. In March 2017, Liam Neeson joined the cast of the film. In April 2017, Colin Farrell joined the cast of the film. That same month, Robert Duvall joined the cast of the film. In May 2017, Garret Dillahunt, Jacki Weaver, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry joined the cast of the film. In June 2017, Carrie Coon was cast in the film. In August 2017, Michael Harney and Jon Bernthal joined the cast of the film.
Principal photography began on May 8, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018. It was scheduled to be released on November 16, 2018.
Box office
As of November 20, 2018, Widows has grossed $15.0 million in the United States and Canada, and $7.8 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $22.8 million, against a production budget of $42 million.
In the United States and Canada, Widows was released alongside Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Instant Family, and was projected to gross $12–18 million from 2,803 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $4.2 million on its first day, including $600,000 from Thursday night previews. It ended up making $12.3 million over the weekend, finishing fifth at the box office. Deadline Hollywood blamed the low debut on the "lack of urgency" in the advertising, and that the studio should not have relied on the good reviews alone to sell the film.
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 254 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Widows rounds up a stellar ensemble for a heist thriller that mixes popcorn entertainment with a message – and marks another artistic leap for director Steve McQueen." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 56 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars; social media monitor RelishMix noted online responses to the film were "mixed".
Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised McQueen's direction and Davis' performance and wrote, "The strongest aspect of Widows is the way the movie gets us — and keeps us — rooting for its desperate-living heroines. They're past the point of just wanting to have fun (the subtext of almost every heist movie); they're less concerned with comeuppance than sheer survival." Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a "A-", saying: "Ultimately, Widows works as well as it does due to the way McQueen juggles substance with entertainment value to such eager subversive ends. The movie engages with topics as complex as sexism, police brutality, and interracial marriage, but it still delivers on the car chases and gunplay. No superhero movie digs this deep."
- List of black films of the 2010s
- Phillips, Michael (November 8, 2018). "Viola Davis, Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen enter Chicago underworld with 'Widows'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-11-11.