Hello to you on what is a fine day today; I hope you're reading this and it finds you well.
Another day, another step closer to the new year, we made it this far. So let us not waste any more time; I would like to introduce you to the movie that I found to be captivating and enthralling from the word go. That film in question is Queen & Slim.
A directorial debut from Melina Matsoukas has a history of directing incredible music videos, not to mention Formation by Beyoncé. So in comes Queen & Slim, a provocative and seductive mixture of Bonnie and Clyde/ Route 66; add a sprinkle of baggage in there, and you have yourself a rollercoaster. Add in the enchanting performances of Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith; the onscreen chemistry has you believing in their dreams, their romance, and their sad journey. Which makes the ending all the more painful, and we'll get to that, don't you worry.
We meet an unnamed woman an unnamed man, let's call them Queen and Slim. How about that? Who are on a date, which by the looks of things, has no signs of turning into a second one? The lady (Jodie Turner-Smith) in question looks bored and uninterested but in need of some company. The gentleman (Daniel Kaluuya) is eager to create smoke with no fire. In what was turning out to be an uneventful (and unsuccessful for some) night, these two figures have their night, and their lives flipped entirely.
Slim finds himself stopped by a police officer, who wanted to check him out for swerving and possible drink driving. The officer wanted to see more and have an excuse to pour all of his aggression on the couple, who were doing no wrong.
The police officer was looking for something charge slim with, and when he seemed unsuccessful, the officer became triggered by Slim's simple question. Who had asked him to hurry up because he was cold. You would think that the police officer would be rational, right? Wrong. He ends up drawing up his weapon on Slim, which then turns real ugly, with Queen finding herself shot in the leg and the officer killed, all in the name of self-defense.
The scene with the police officer stopping the car and escalating the situation to something that should have been routine is a stark reminder that being black in America warrants a target on your back, highlighting a racial divide still present today in America.
Fate put these two humans together, and now they have to find a way to get out of this hellish situation alive. Throughout the journey, we see the love starting to blossom. Matsoukas did not rush their story progression; the chemistry was binding. The whole trip with them looking to leave the country even had me rooting for them to make their great escape, and yet in the back of my mind, something was telling me this was way too good to be true. And sadly, I was proven right; being caught on the tarmac as they were about to board was such a terrible injustice.
I also have to add that the music's implementation was a significant input; it's as if you were seated in the car with them and not the usual echoey feel you get when music in the car is playing. It was very soothing at times; I have to say. I think the storyline and the pacing of this film were well set, and yet I felt as though something was missing from the story- may be in the middle of the film, the momentum faltered quite a bit. However, the onscreen chemistry was quite captivating, and I feel Turner-Smith and Kaluuya's performance carried the film over the line and created a terrific movie.
I want to show appreciation to the cinematographer; Tat Radcliffe created some stunning shots, the depth of field was gorgeous to see.
The lighting complimented that wonderfully and made for an impressive visual piece.
This film was a fantastic directorial debut from Melina Matsoukas, who deserves full credit for this. I will love to hear your thoughts on this film if you have seen this before. I would recommend you to watch it if you haven't already.
I hope you've enjoyed this, and with that, I bid you adieu.
Till next time
Picture reference:
https://www.empirecinemas.co.uk/synopsis/queen__slim/f7001/
https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-queen-slim-is-an-uneven-braiding-of-the-personal-and-the-political/
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191115-queen-slim-film-review-five-stars
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