Review: Queen & Slim

-
This is not Bonnie and Clyde

Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) is an attorney having a rough day after a client is sentenced to death. Not wanting to be alone, she turns to Tinder and meets up with Slim. (Daniel Kaluuya) Their first date isn't exactly a home run on its own, then they are pulled over by a racist police officer who shoots Queen in the Leg, then is in turn shot by Slim in self defense. The two go on the run because they know they will never see justice.

I point out that they're not Bonnie and Clyde in my header because they're referred to that more than once in the film (but strangely, never as Queen and Slim, at least that I noticed) and these two could not be bigger opposites of those notorious criminals. They don't want to be murders. They never once sit back and enjoy any part of what happened. They didn't ask for the title of inspirational cop killers to be thrust upon them.

I'm quite torn on this. I'll freely admit when I don't understand something and I don't get some of the choices this film makes. I'm getting into spoiler territory here but it's the only way I can explain myself. Queen and Slim meet with a young boy who idolizes them for what they did. Then, in a scene that's intercut with the couple having sex, he goes to a rally to protest police violence on black people, then promptly picks a fight with a black cop, and shoots him in the face. It's such a bizarre choice especially when the previous scene with the boy was so moving. The ending was another massive head scratcher for me.

That's not to say this film is a lost cause. It's shot beautifully and has some of the best cinematography I've seen all year. Director Melina Matsoukas puts a lot of love into every set up, it's the script that isn't strong enough to meet her vision.

Kaluuya and Turner-Smith are wonderful and their characters' journey from awkward Tinder date to love story is the strongest part of the film. I just wish they had more to work with.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: C+

Memorable Quote: "I'm used to saying I'm fine when I'm not." - Slim (Daniel Kaluuya)

Comments

  1. thevoid99December 8, 2019 at 3:45 PM

    I thought about seeing it for the talent but I think I'll wait for it on the TV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 8, 2019 at 7:17 PM

      I think it's worth a theater watch at at least support the director and hopefully get more films like this a wide release. I just had a lot of questions.

      Delete
  2. Often Off TopicDecember 9, 2019 at 8:02 AM

    I don't think my local is going to have this but it sounds well worth a watch despite it's flaws.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 9, 2019 at 4:44 PM

      It definitely is, hopefully your theater gets it.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more