Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Widows

Viola Davis, Liam Neeson,
Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki,
Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell

"Left with Nothing. Capable of Anything"


The title refers to 4 women whose husbands perished after their heist goes wrong. Veronica (Viola Davis) who was married to Harry (Liam Neeson) the leader of the criminal gang is hounded by a menacing local thug who claims that Harry stole their money. Desperate to get rid of the debt, she gathers the other widows and decide to do Harry's "next job".

The plan is clear as day yet do these women even have the capabilities to pull it off? Veronica is a union rep for a teachers association, Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) doesn't even know how to drive, Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) owns a bridal shop and Belle (not really part of the "widows club") is a hair dresser. To answer the question: Absolutely not.

Set in present day Chicago, a local election mired with corruption, bribery and dirty campaign tactics provides a weak backdrop. The film drags on with several subplots. The main story line is marred with inconsistent twists which lost the element of surprise so it all falls flat. 

Widows could have been a good movie. Yet the 'robbery' came in quite late in the sequence of events and also quite fast (it was over in 5-8 minutes) that by then you simply lose interest. Unfortunately, the ensemble cast consisting of talented actors like Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson couldn't salvage this average heist film.

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