Queen & Slim Review
R: Violence, some strong sexuality, nudity, pervasive language, and brief drug use
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 12 Minutes
Production Companies: 3BlackDot, Bron Creative, Makeready, De La Revolución Films, Hillman Grad Productions, Entertainment One
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Director: Melina Matsoukas
Writer: Lena Waithe
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson, Indya Moore
Release Date: November 27, 2019
What started off as a simple dinner between a couple on their first Tinder date immediately goes horribly wrong when a White policeman pulls them over and threatens to kill them. As the situation escalates, Slim takes the officer’s gun and shoots him in self-defense. The issue is, the two were recorded on the cop’s dash cam and are automatically painted as cop killers. Talk about the worst Tinder date ever, am I right? We perceive it as self-defense, but because — as Childish Gambino once said — “This is America”, Queen and Slim immediately have bounties on their heads. Without hesitation, the two are left with nothing to do but go off the grid and outrun the law. Meanwhile, the video goes viral and they inadvertently become a symbol for the nation’s African-Americans who have been the target of racial violence against the police.
Once the first footage of this film — which aired during the BET Awards — made its way online, I got nothing but chills upon my viewing. I’m still baffled by how this just popped up on my radar halfway through the year, for it has all the trappings to be 100% my shit. The feature screenplay debut of acclaimed Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and actress Lena Waithe which stars Daniel Kaluuya and serves as the directorial debut of Melina Matsoukas?! Excuse me as I get in FORMATION!
America bears a prolonged history of African-Americans being gunned down and massacred by the police due to the color of their skin. It’s a horrifying reality that is still relevant today and is still an ongoing crisis that inflicts fear in many. Now we have the Black Lives Matter movement as a means to strike back. Many films today are geared toward the Black demographic and tackle the subject in a meaningful and endearing manner. With that being said, don’t perceive this as a Black Bonnie & Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde was a couple that robbed banks and gas stations. This is Queen and Slim, an innocent duo — not even a couple — that coops up together in a situation of self-defense and must evade the law to survive.
Melina Matsoukas. You better recognize that name. Add some respect and keep her name in your memory bank because, even though this is Lena Waithe’s script, this is mostly Matsoukas’ time to shine, and baby she glows. With this being her feature directorial debut, after years of directing some of the best music videos of all time, she bursts through the gate powerfully with full force. Queen & Slim is one of the most gorgeously crafted works of cinematic art I’ve seen this year. Despite what criticisms I may have about this film (which I’ll discuss later on), I adore how this movie looks and how it’s brought together. It has the look of an independent feature, specifically an A24 project. Never for a second does this feel like a movie that had any studio interference, for it’s straight up Matsoukas and Waithe’s baby. For the narrative primarily being a road trip adventure through the American south, Matsoukas captures the raw beauty of the country with every location her journey leads to. Though most of the areas are rural, underrepresented Black communities, no matter how poverty-stricken and gritty some places are, Matsoukas spins it to showcase the beauty of the communities, which is also a credit to her DP Tat Radcliffe whose cinematography is *chef’s kiss* immaculate. Most of my favorite moments include the wide shots of the landscapes, which the leads are driving through, giving you a taste of the freedom they’re attempting to chase. It’s those shots that makes this drama look like a moving piece of art that deserves to be its own exhibition in a museum. Give me a Queen & Slim exhibition at the Museum of Moving Image or the MoMA because it's beautiful. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was influenced by Jacob Lawrence’s paintings because the journey alone is reminiscent of his art.
The shot composition for each sequence, specifically during Queen and Slim’s conversations/arguments in every automobile they escape in, is so diligent it gets you completely immersed in their trip, making you feel as if you were in the backseat the entire way through. Given this is a studio film, if in the hands of any other filmmaker, most of the shots would be comprised of closeups on each party whenever they would speak. No, here the camera would be placed right on the car door or on the back of a truck while they’re talking/arguing.
While the performances aren’t anything that would stand out in this crowded year, Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith deliver amazing performances given their roles. Queen is a commanding, vocal, outspoken, skeptical, and cynical attorney who is angered by the subjugation placed on the Black citizens of the country by the government and law enforcement. As her past is explored throughout the journey, you begin to understand the reasons why she acts the way she does and why she has this hard-edged emotional barrier. Get Out had Daniel Kaluuya expressing a variety of emotions and reactions to a specific situation. Widows had him expressing his intimidating side. This role is more reserved than Kaluuya has been thus far where he depicts another layered exhibition of fear. It’s a systematic fear that most Black men experience in America. Ample times do you see him in quiet, somber moments reflecting on himself. This character who has little to no masculine bones in his body, exuding nothing but tenderness, is traumatized by the actions he took in self-defense and you’re easily able to read the terror and regret shown on his face. While Slim isn’t as fully developed and realized as Queen, it was he that I emotionally gravitated toward the most (duh lol). When it’s just him and Queen together, feeling the suffocation of being a Black fugitive in modern America makes for some emotionally powerful and poetic scenes of the year.
Also, the soundtrack... ugh. Such major bops. It’s not just the original music made for the movie, but the music cues of R&B songs from the 20th Century. Music is utilized to express the difference between the two’s personalities.
If there is anything I think Queen & Slim should be perceived as first and foremost is a romance. Two polar opposite African-Americans on a bad Tinder date are cooped up together as fugitives as they slowly fall for each other along the way. Now, if you’re going into Queen & Slim thinking it’s this epic drama with social commentary focusing on the relevant social issue regarding Black Lives Matter, you might walk out disappointed. The film’s biggest arc is the romance between the titular leads. While I hail it for being a great depiction of Black love, the social commentary, whenever it’s interwoven into the journey, is where the film falls short.
The social commentary is very underdeveloped. It kind of reminded me of (fuck, I really didn’t want to pull this card but) Joker. In that film you had one figure who has their own altercation with authority and commits murder in self-defense that sparks a huge movement with the rest of society. It’s a similar case here, the difference being that the themes are more crucially relevant and urgent. Waithe does a great job incorporating a larger picture of Black people in society and this duo is a symbol for something meaningful. I respect Lena for letting her characters journey down South and travel through underrepresented communities, such as the ghettos, but at the same time, I’m tired of seeing simpleminded Black people in the ghetto. The only exception I thoroughly enjoyed was Bokeem Woodbine as this war veteran turned pimp. He is a ton of fun to watch and while he might say or do something that’s often uncomfortable, he’s fleshed out enough for you to understand his actions. But everyone else is either taken straight out of a cartoon or just too stupid. During the beginning of their escape, the two encounter a kid and his dad who saw their viral video. That dad is the most stereotypical Black dude I’ve seen in a movie in a long time where he refers to women as “bitches”, he calls his son’s mom a bitch, and boasts about having hoes. Mind you this is in the middle of Kentucky so I guess the IQ of the people there are just that low. I mean they are. Waithe paints everyone in the South — no matter the race — as either simpleminded, stupid, or sexist. Now, while those characters who exhibit a disparity of intelligence due to the environment they’re set in are written well, so many of the supporting Black characters are too stupid and problematic.
For something that could’ve been rather genius, Queen & Slim takes the simplistic route and often holds your hand throughout the trip. Because of this, some of the impact of the intended twists and turns are ineffective. Even when you’re trying to read into detail over some “significant” juxtapositions, they’re still easily comprehensible and too on-the-nose.
The film wants to deliver commentary about the new contemporary definition of African-American freedom and liberty, but by the midpoint it stumbles over major hurdles and leaves a terrible aftertaste without much response to major events that occur. I keep thinking of the protest scene. How it’s played out and how it’s dismissed later on is just so irresponsible, especially for the conversation it sparks. Maybe if there was a co-writer to make the script tighter and develop the social issues to spark a new conversation, have the journey be less routined, and add a bit more urgency, its impact would've been effective.
Maybe I expected far too much from this given its great setup and concept. At the end of the day, Queen & Slim is a well-developed romance, but from a social commentary standpoint it's nothing new considering every other movie on the subject. It works best when it focuses more on the duo's journey and the blossoming of their romance more so than when they come across other Black people who hail them as heroes, for their response is only reactionary. If you perceive this as a romantic drama as opposed to a social thriller, you’re going to have a fantastic time. As far as I’m concerned, I walked out a bit disappointed, albeit entertained.
