Movie Review: Queen & Slim

Queen & Slim *** / *****

Directed by: Melina Matsoukas.

Written by: Lena Waithe and James Frey.

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya (Slim), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen), Bokeem Woodbine (Uncle Earl), Chloë Sevigny (Mrs. Shepherd), Flea (Mr. Shepherd), Sturgill Simpson (Police Officer Reed), Indya Moore (Goddess), Benito Martinez (Sheriff Edgar), Jahi Di'Allo Winston (Junior), Bertrand E. Boyd III (Black Man).

 

Queen & Slim is a messy, confused movie that I think tries to do too much for any one movie to do – and at the same time, seems confused as to what it is actually saying. Strange for a film that begins with an unarmed black man ending up with a cop’s gun, and killing that cop in self-defense – in a move that we in the audience are not supposed to question (and honestly don’t – in part because the movie presents it in such a way that it is impossible to argue against what he does) – from there the film seems to want to muddy all the issues it raises. It’s systematic racism – and the police force are part of it, but individual black cops are presented as good guys in a way that white cops never are. But not all white people are bad, just look at the character played by Flea, but not all that good, because looks at Chloe Sevigny who plays his wife, who isn’t that great – although then, of course, she doesn’t turn either. Or the character just identified as Black Man in the credits – who behaves in ways we don’t expect as the film reaches its climax. Even then, look who fires the first shot that sets off the Bonnie & Clyde ending we know is coming since those famed outlaws are evoked by name multiple times in the film. Then there’s moments that are just confusing – like the sequence where black love and black anger are intercut with each as a sex scene and a protest that turns violence are cut together. It was controversial when Spielberg did something similar in Munich – it made sense there (to me anyway) – but here, it’s kind of cringe inducing. The film simultaneously seems to want to be a call to arms for African Americans – a romanticization of the two main characters much like Arthur Penn’s Bonnie & Clyde was for its leads for the kids of the late 1960s – but mixed with a little bit of Paul Haggis’ Crash – where the film goes out of its way to call everyone on their prejudices, including the audience. It’s an odd experience watching Queen & Slim to be sure.

 

While the experience is odd, what I will also say though is that it is never unpleasant. Part of that is the simple fact that stars Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith are both fine actors, and immensely attractive actors as well. They are good enough that they help paper over the fact that neither actor really has a complicated character to play – we barely know anything about either, and don’t learn much over the course of the movie, and at times they both behave irrationally in ways that are never explained. They don’t have much sexual chemistry – which certainly hurts the film, which needs that spark, that tension between them and it never comes – but they’re good enough to help you through the movie. They are playing characters who don’t know each other when the film starts, and oddly, I’m not sure they know each other when it ends either.

 

Part of it is that the supporting cast is so strong – they show up for a few scenes, then leave, but they leave their mark – my favorite is Bokeem Woodbine, in his best role in years, as Queen’s uncle – an Iraq vet turned pimp, who is an utter delight. Part of the reason it works somewhat is also debut director Melina Matsoukis, a veteran of music videos, who clearly has an eye for imagery – there are any number of eye-popping visuals here, and Matsoukas is clearly not afraid to overdose on style. The film could probably be tightened a little – it drags over its 130-minute runtime, and repeats itself, but it looks great throughout.

 

And part of the reason why it works is even when the film is confused in what it’s saying, it’s still trying to say something throughout. I do think screen Lena Waithe is trying too hard to complicate pretty much everything in the film, except for the shooting that opens in the film. From then on though, the screenplay tries too hard to subvert your expectations about the characters and the situations from scene to scene – with the exception of Queen & Slim themselves. They could have used that complexity.

 

In the end, I cannot help but think that Queen & Slim becomes one of those films that tries to say so much that it ends up saying nothing at all. I’m not sure that the film ends up with any meaningful observations on these characters, or the largely world in which they live – it is a story about black love, and how society is always against you – but it any real coherent worldview. It’s a fascinating, never boring viewing experience – but I’m not sure it adds up to anything at all.