User Reviews

I don't even want to review this movie, but it hasn't even come out and somehow half of the ratings are one star. The movie itself is pretty great and I'd highly recommend you go see it when it comes out. The acting is very strong, the directing feels very fresh/unique, and you really grow to care about the film's romance. The political statements this movie makes are secondary to the story of these well-fleshed out characters and their struggles, which makes the commentary resonate stronger than many other movies like this. It ain't perfect --it's a bit long, especially when considering the repetitive structure of the story, and the shot composition is a bit boring but this is a movie that everyone should go and see. And jesus, I don't know how it would be possible, butcan you not find a way to weed out the people who review-bomb movies with strong political messages/that have minorities or women in the leading roles? Christ.

"Queen & Slim" is I think the perfect example of a movie that's greater than the sum of its parts.

There are many individual moments in the film that don't hold up under scrutiny. But when experienced as a whole, the film exerts a kind of poetic power. It's equal parts sorrow and rage at the treatment of African Americans in the United States, and having watched it after the George Floyd murder (even though the film came out before it), it's impossible not to understand the actions and motivations of the Bonnie and Clyde couple at the film's center.

It's certainly overheated and histrionic at times, but these are overheated and histrionic moments we're experiencing in our country right now, and I don't want movies, especially movies about race, to play it safe. I want them to be angry, to scream and shout and swear, to have muscle and teeth, and so the energy blazing off the screen from this movie felt right for the moment.

My favorite scene is the one where Slim comments on how beautiful the countryside of rural America is as they're driving through it, and Queen, who casually glances at a prison work gang in a field made up of all black men that could easily pass for a group of field slaves from the Civil War-era South, replies, "Is it?"

Grade: A-

The movie is an emotional journey. The character are humanized. For a person of color, you can easily envision yourself in their shoes. The film does have an artistic quality to it which further enhances the movie. The story is good. I wish the film spent a little more time on some of the secondary characters. However, I also understand it was not their story. The film is long. A few scenes could have been cut. Nevertheless, it is a good film and worth seeing. Ignore all the negative views who are trying to bomb the reviews just because the movie stars black actors.

With the current climate around the world at the moment regarding the George Floyd protests, now seemed like as good a time as any to finally check out 'Queen and Slim'. The opening to this movie is incredible. We meet the characters in a diner, get to know them a little, and then an event takes place after they are pulled over by the police. This entire sequence is exquisite. It's tense, unpredictable and powerful. At this point I thought I was in for a masterpiece of a film. Unfortunately it wasn't able to maintain that momentum and fell apart a little later on, but the film is worthing watching for that opening alone.

Another aspect of the film I loved was the feeling that anything could happen. Nothing felt off the cards in this movie. It could end in any fashion whatsoever across the full range of the spectrum. I love it when films have that going for it. Where this film lets itself is that it becomes a love story and I just didn't buy it for a second. These were two pretty horrendous people who clearly drove each other reasonably crazy, and the film even goes out of its way to show us this, and yet we are supposed to believe that they are the love of each other's lives? No sale on that one sorry.

The film raises a lot of moral debates. Should people who kill police officers be treated as heroes? Is it okay to resist arrest if you don't think the arrest is justified? Is it okay to then go out and rob and steal, simply because you are on the run? Is it okay to treat people who are trying to help you very rudely? People could debate these things for decades to come, and it likely won't be the friendliest of debates which is why I have no interest in partaking in them, but the fact is the movie provides those talking points for people to have. 'Queen and Slim' is a very well made film, that just goes off the rails a little in terms of its characters likability and believability, particularly in the second half. I'd say it is worth a watch, but don't get your hopes up too high after that amazing opening.

Magnificently shot, styled and directed. The leading actors are outstanding. A must-watch.

Having seen this a few weeks ago, I was a blank slate going into it. Obviously I was familiar with Daniel Kaluuya, from Get Out and Black Panther and had read the film was a first time directorial effort (on this scale) but had no other preconceptions about it.

I was pleasantly surprised by just how accomplished it was. The film looks gorgeous. The cast all deliver on what feels like a fairly loose screenplay in keeping with the indie spirit of the film. Yes some plot points feel a little contrived in order to move the story on but nothing so bad that it derails the film.

The film very much reminds me of Badlands and to a lesser extent True Romance in its dreamier sequences, as the camera does an expert job of capturing the furtive glances and subconscious body language of the two protagonists deepening relationship. This is aided by an excellent soundtrack and the aforementioned top notch cinematography.

Special note to the landscape of Florida itself which as the film moves from the tight, dark confines of the city to the hot, wide open vistas serves as visual metaphor for the journey of the central characters.

It's hard enough (in 2020) to view anything outwith the prism of politics, and even harder with a film that touches on the tragedy of the black experience in modern America for some. If even the user reviews here are anything to go by, those of a caucasian persuasion (as i am) feel aggrieved at how white cops are portrayed. Forgetting that there are many incidents of "malpractice" every week and that this is a movie. Also there are plenty of films about honest, good police officers.

I would urge people to watch the film and see this is not the central point of the film. Nor does it make any strong judgement call one way or another. It simply uses what is a tragically all too common occurrence to light the spark of the story. Then holds up a lens to how that type of incident could play out. No real grandstanding, more a welcome subversion of the fugitive /romance genre from a different perspective.

It's a film that doesn't force its message or feel it has to show black people railing against injustice or overt oppression and overcoming all the odds. It just shows two people on the run, trying to survive.

As Slim says in one of the film's many great lines. "Why do black people have to be excellent, why can't we just be ourselves".

I saw Queen and Slim! I am emotional and very touched from this movie. It's one of the best films this year. Incredible script written by Lena Waithe ! The way Melina Matsoukas put wisely the puzzles together to tell this story with her debut film! She is incredible storyteller! But also the movie is brilliant because of the great actors and their magnificent performances! Daniel Kaluuya is so deep with his performance you can feel everything through his eyes! Jodie Turner-Smith had an incredible strong chemistry with Daniel and she is captivating you! The soundtrack, cinematography, production was perfect ! It's a 10 stars masterpiece that it stays with you after the movie. Thank you for sharing this story out today! We need it!

This movie was full of emotion. Both actors were strong, and the storyline flowed. I think people who give it trash ratings most likely don't like the issue presented in the movie, which is police brutality among African Americans. I think they are giving it low ratings because it makes them feel uncomfortable. Half of them probably never even saw it!!

Divisive, controversial, and thought provoking, Queen & Slim is exactly the type of movie that people who complain about the lack of originality in Hollywood need to see. And for the most part, the movie succeeds at being an immersive crime thriller that never quite stops to take a full breath without rushing you back into more conflict. There are however, specific directing choices that I thought were completely unnecessary and almost repulsive, because the message that was trying to be conveyed was already there in subtext. For some people that style may work, for others Queen & Slim may be too controversial. It's the type of film that I appreciate the craft more than I actually like the movie itself. But it should be seen nonetheless.

7.0/10

This movie is infuriating because it has so much potential. The setup is promising and both actors have enough pull to take you along for the ride. Daniel Kaluuya is a great actor of our times, he carries the screen so well with his eyes and expression. For me, the movie fails in it's editing and pacing, especially past the halfway point. The movie feels about 40 minutes too long. In the beginning, the characters' decision to go on the run feels very haphazard, especially considering Queen's profession. Some of the main character decisions are remarkably dumb and certain other side characters take decisions that are unlike them. Without going into spoilers, all I can say is that this movie is just too slow paced and does not fulfil a promise of what could have been a great fugitive movie with a strong social message.

What started off as a decent and engaging plot, ended up being a mushy and unnecessarily long dragged out film. This needed at least 30 mins shaved off, especially from the long and dragged out sappy scenes. The whole Bonnie and Clyde theme was ok, but I would've liked more of a story and less of the unconvincing romance. Nevertheless, decent performances and directing.

The film was a beautiful yet striking journey and though all of our favorite love stories have definite endings, this one tied two purposes together. The director did a phenomenal job and everyone involved for that matter. This is a film I'm rooting for. Hope it stays in theaters longer than 2 weeks.

Another holiday, another week to try and get the most out of the movies and the shopping frenzy of Black Friday. Tonight's feature is another political drama that will potentially lead to much discussion, potential motivation, and certainly a lot of discussion about the quality of the movie. Given the heated reviews I've seen so far, I'm going to do my best to put an objective focus on this review and give you heads up as to whether or not one should take this film in for the holiday theater run. Let's get started as I look at:



LIKES:

Acting Symbolism Adventure mixed with Morals Cultural Representation Tasteful At Times Music

DISLIKES:

Long Slow Pace Super political at parts that detracts from story Secondary character are sort of at lost A bit stereotypical at times Lazy writing in dialogue at times Predictable Editing Issues

The Verdict:

Queen and Slim's two main leads are stellar, taking very shallow characters and evolving their performances with to match the development. Their chemistry is fantastic with each other, really delivering a believable relationship that does not feel forced or scripted, but rather natural and flowing. It's this component that will be the core foundation for the film, as both Kaluuya and Turner-Smith are capable of delivering the politically charged content in heated yet classy ways. As you can guess, this movie has a lot of hot topics built into it, and the movie utilizes the cinematography to bring lots of symbolism into the film. Sequences are designed to capture the full power of many topics of interest, attempting to again balance the heat of the moment with an objective take sort of capturing a news debate in a more entertaining form. Queen and Slim's adventure is definitely a road trip that should be engaging for target audiences of drama/political lovers, but for those looking for messages to motivate you should see this achieved as well. Preachy at times (as most of these films are), this tale does a nice job of instilling the writer's values into a classy, ethical manner that will provide some food for thought and reanalyzing one's approach to these arguments. In addition, several members in my audience mentioned that they appreciated the cultural representation at key moments and the importance of pride and reputation as several secondary characters showed. I found that though stereotypical, it was tasteful compared to what other movies have done in the past. Finally, the music has enough musical genres to make an entertaining soundtrack, with R&B, Rap, and Hip hop ready to blast through the speakers during transition sequences. Not the most relevant in terms of story, but a good soundtrack is always welcome in my book to get my feet moving.

However, I agree with my reviewers there are some decisions made in this movie I felt detracted from the messages and story they wanted to tell. My limitation starts with the length of the film and the pace that did not support the length. Much of the film feels very drawn out, bloated sequences that did not need to be present, while other times it was a little too focused on pointing out the obvious. As I mentioned earlier, Queen and Slim requires the two main characters to be the focus of all the political writing in the movie. While they excel at this, the supporting characters are a little too much in the background for my tastes. Like connecting the dots, the farther the two travel the more diluted the characters become, leading to plain interactions with most, often to introduce a new angle and conversation topic to discuss. I'll admit I liked seeing the influence the two had, especially at the end, but I had hoped for a little more progression and pertinence than what we got. The truth is that this film really focuses on hitting all the political issues so hard that it sort of drives off from the story and leave the main characters in side scenes while the people they have talked to "evolve" so to speak. Most of these scenes were... okay, but a couple were so convoluted and unnecessary, that I only saw it as a more time extension than quality shot, again meant for a politically charged audience. Throw in much of the writing is again back to lots of cursing and insults to go with the stereotypical portrayals and well, you sort of drown the better writing in this representation. Overall, the main thing that this movie suffers from is the editing and trying to be too tastefully political in the sequences sort of diluted the incredible potential of the story.

Queen and Slim is a drama that has important messages for the world to see and think on, and does a decent job with not making them too aggressive. Yet, in terms of an entertaining story that has the full picture of suspense, discussion, and storytelling it still has areas of improvement to go. It's the editing and how much they wanted to include that I think got this film in trouble, and because of the side tangents and attempts to personify the problems in this character, the story got scattered. For those that want their political ideals represented and relate to the trials each character has, this movie is a theater visit, but for the rest of the audience, I feel the investment at a home watch is going to be key to maximizing your experience.

My scores are:

Drama: 7.0 Movie Overall: 5.5

So well made a movie. Very engaging from the first frame till the end. Fantastic performances by both the protagonists and yes brilliant direction and script. Photography is marvellous too. All in all an Oscar deserving movie.

A few scene didn't really make sense? The storyline wasn't very exciting. Kind of flat. But definitely there is a message from this movie.

This movie is an Adaptation of the original bonnie and Clyde but this time with black characters shedding a poetic light on modern age police brutality and racism on black Americans and the rebellion that follows. Worth the watch.

White police officers killing black men is something we've seen much of in recent years, and it's been represented in films such as Fruitvale Station (2013); The Hate U Give (2018), Monsters and Men (2018); and Widows (2018). And to that list you can now add Queen & Slim, albeit with an asterisk, because here, it's a black man killing a white police officer. But, and this is a key point, he does so only in self-defence. Embracing the notion that Black Lives very much Matter, the film is something of a stealth social commentary insofar as it wears the disguise of the classic genre template of a duo on the run à la films such as They Live by Night (1948), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Badlands (1973), and Thelma & Louise (1991). And it works perfectly well as a taut road-movie. However, underneath the genre elements, you'll find a condemnation of a criminal justice system that seemingly targets minorities, a celebration of black unity and cultural vibrancy, and an examination of Trump's divided America. It's not an angry diatribe per se, certainly not in the sense that some of Spike Lee's films are, but it does attempt to Speak Truth to Power and it is fundamentally of the moment. It also happens to be a very fine film, albeit a little too long and with some tonal inconsistencies.

Queen (a superb debut performance by model Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (a brilliant Daniel Kaluuya) are on a date, having met on Tinder. However, things are not going especially well, as they quickly discover they have virtually nothing in common. He works at Costco, is a devout Christian, and wants a family; she's an atheistic defence attorney with no filter for her often acerbic comments, and has no interest in raising a family. As he drives her home, they're pulled over by Officer Reed (Sturgill Simpson), who is unnecessarily threatening and belligerent from the start. When draws his weapon and orders Slim to the ground, Queen attempts to record what's happening, but Reed shoots her in the leg. Slim then tackles Reed, gets his gun, and kills him. Slim wants to remain at the scene, but Queen points out that a black man has just shot a white cop with his own gun, and if they stay, the best they can hope for is prison. And so the duo find themselves on the lam, with Slim concocting a vague plan to head south from Ohio to Miami, and ultimately on to Cuba. Meanwhile, mostly without their knowledge, they become the symbol for and inspiration behind a nationwide protest movement against racially-motivated police violence.

Queen & Slim is written by Lena Waithe, from a story by Waithe and James Frey (yep, that James Frey), and is directed by Melina Matsoukas in her feature directorial debut. Although at a structural level, Queen & Slim is a classic duo on the run film, at a thematic level it focuses on socio-political issues such as ethnic tension, systemic racism, unchecked police violence, communal anger, and both the importance and danger of protest movements (it's telling that the film doesn't paint every protestor as a paragon of virtue). Concerning this, a key point is that the film doesn't try to be a piece of social realism. On their journey from Ohio to Miami, Queen and Slim encounter a litany of black characters, all of whom know exactly who they are, all of whom approve of what they did and treat them like folk heroes (except a mechanic (Gralen Bryant Banks) who's unimpressed with their actions). This isn't done to suggest that black identity in the US is monolithic, rather it's to make an allegorical point; it's a reference to a "them and us" mentality. This allegorical sense is heightened further with references to slave catchers, chain gangs, and the Underground Railroad.

Aside from this, the other major theme is the notion of legacy. This is tied into the fact that Queen and Slim are symbols for a nationwide movement. The fact that they don't see themselves as symbols, doesn't matter to the people who mythologise them. When Slim kills Reed, he and Queen flee because they assume they won't get a fair trial in a country that sees race before all else (and remember, she's a lawyer). And this assumption is what forms the basis of the movement built in their name, with black people shown as exasperated by such treatment. In such a dangerously volatile milieu, Queen and Slim provide the spark that sets the tinderbox aflame.

Looking at the aesthetic side of things, Waithe's screenplay does a good job of telling us who Queen and Slim are from the get-go, taking only a few moments during the opening scene to set up many of the characteristics that will prove important later (his faith, for example, or her acerbity). And because the scene is a first date, the dialogue can introduce such getting-to-know-you material without it seeming expositionary or inorganic. The acting is also terrific. Turner-Smith, in her first feature film role, plays Queen as the realist to Slim's idealist, someone who has sacrificed much to achieve success and who, although she hides it, is deeply lonely. Kaluuya plays Slim as an eternal optimist, someone who trusts others, but is also borderline naïve, in a performance that's the complete inverse of the intimidating enforcer he played in Widows.

There are some problems though. For example, on a few occasions, the movie inexplicably starts using voiceover. But not normal voiceover. Two characters will be shown having a normal conversation and then some of the dialogue is delivered as VO, only for the normal conversation to resume again. If it was confined to Queen and Slim, I might think it was a poorly-conceived attempt to draw us into their psyche, but it isn't. So, I honestly don't know what the point is, but it sure is distracting and seems to come from a different film entirely. Some scenes are also just too fanciful; such as a scene where the duo stop so Slim can ride a horse or a bizarre scene with a gas station clerk, which (I think) is supposed to be comic relief, but which is just too tonally divorced from everything else. Another poorly conceived scene, sees Matsoukas cut to Slim's father (Thom Gossom Jr.) to show us that the police are monitoring his phone. It's an entirely unnecessary scene, and it breaks the rigidly maintained focalisation, which up to this point has been entirely confined to Queen and Slim. The film also runs about 15 minutes too long, with several fake-out endings, and in its final moments, it veers very close to melodrama.

These issues notwithstanding, however, this is a strong film that works on several levels. On the one hand, it's a decent duo-on-the-run story; on the other, it's a film tuned into the socio-political frequency of the times. A snapshot of a house divided against itself, it paints a bleak picture of a group that has been pushed and prodded to the point where combustion may be unavoidable. 31% of Americans believe that a second Civil War will happen within their lifetime, and it will almost certainly be race-related. Queen & Slim suggests they might just be correct.

I just left the theater from an early screening. This movie was excellent! Amazing acting, great storyline, and nice soundtrack. 10/10 all the way around. GO SEE IT!!!

Must watch. Not a slick Hollywood production with all the cliches but very good. This movie made me a bit melancholic and also grateful for living in North Europe.

From the opening incident that catapults Queen and Slim into an unevenly told story, to the final scene, I found quite a bit to admire about the movie. Some sections of the movie were wonderful, other scenes not so much. I would say if the way the story was told was more cohesive, and not so split off in parts, this could've been a great movie.

To me, it started out being a film about racial injustice, with a police officer acting in a horrific way, with an incident that I think we all recognize from many news stories that happen frequently. After the opening, the film becomes another movie about the relationship between two very different people, unexpectedly thrown together, and experience personal growth and love for one another.

It was good, but fell short of the mark. The acting was very good, so I can't fault their performance. I say watch the movie and appreciate the best parts.

Life is ironic sometimes. I had this movie on my list since it came out. When I started watching it I remembered what the premise is and thought how crazy this is. A cop just killed George Floyd a few weeks ago which let to riots and the BlackLivesMatter movement. And here is a movie that came out before that hitting right on that topic of police brutality ans racism. Admittedly this is not the he first movie that tackles the topic but is for sure on of the best ones. David Kaluuya Jodie Turner-Smith are incredible. Their acting is so unbelievably great but not just them separately but the chemistry they have together. It is working right from the start and as they get closer we are just in love with them being in love. Despite it being kind of a thriller and kind of road movie and kind of a drama it is above all a love story. You will also notice how beautifully it is shot. Now I gotta say I hated the ending. Not how it ends because this was clear from the start but the way it happens is too convenient. But it is still a great movie carried by the two leads.