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Widows (2018 film)

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Widows
Company typeFilm
IndustryMotion picture
Founded2018
FounderSteve McQueen (director), Gillian Flynn (screenwriter)
Headquarters
Chicago
,
United States / United Kingdom
ProductsNeo-noir heist thriller film
Parent20th Century Fox (distributor)

Widows is a 2018 neo-noir heist thriller helmed by director Steve McQueen, with a script co-written by McQueen and Gillian Flynn. Inspired by the 1983 British TV series of the same name, the narrative centers on four women from Chicago who orchestrate a $5 million robbery from a politician’s residence to settle a debt owed to a crime lord after their husbands perish during a botched heist.

This British-American collaborative production features lead performances by Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Debicki, alongside newcomer Cynthia Erivo and a supporting ensemble including Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson.

Widows debuted at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical release by 20th Century Fox, premiering in the United Kingdom on November 6 and in the United States on November 16. The film was highly praised for its direction, editing, screenplay, and standout performances—especially from Davis, Debicki, and Kaluuya—earning accolades for its successful fusion of compelling drama with commercial appeal. It amassed $76 million globally against a production budget of $42 million and received multiple award nominations, including a BAFTA nomination for Davis as Best Actress.

Plot

Set in Chicago, the story begins when Harry Rawlings and his crew’s escape van detonates amid a police confrontation following their theft of $2 million from crime boss Jamal Manning. Jamal requires these funds to support his campaign for alderman representing a South Side district. After the failed heist, Jamal pressures Veronica, Harry’s widow, to compensate him. Jamal’s political rival is Jack Mulligan, heir to an influential political family. Jack shows little interest in politics but is motivated by financial gain; his father Tom warns him that losing to Jamal would bring shame.

Bash, Harry’s devoted driver, delivers Harry’s notebook to Veronica. The notebook contains a scheme to steal $5 million from Mulligan’s residence. Although advised to sell this plan to Jamal’s faction, Veronica opts to carry out the robbery herself. She enlists two other widows of Harry’s crew: Alice, who has become a sugar baby after losing her income source, and Linda, whose husband squandered her store’s rent money. Amanda, another widow with a four-month-old infant, declines participation.

Alice procures firearms and an escape vehicle while Linda interprets the blueprints. Jatemme, Jamal’s enforcer, murders Bash during his search for the notebook. Using her sugar daddy connection—a real estate executive—Alice confirms that the blueprints depict the safe room within the Mulligan estate, which also serves as Jack Mulligan’s campaign headquarters.

Linda recruits Belle, her babysitter, as their getaway driver. Veronica uncovers Harry hiding at Amanda’s home with her baby; he reveals that he betrayed the group by sabotaging their van and is collaborating with Mulligan to undermine Jamal's campaign. While speaking with Harry on the phone, Veronica recalls the death of her son Marcus during a police stop. She later visits Mulligan’s mansion under the guise of seeking protection and surveys security arrangements with Belle.

Veronica coerces the security chief at the Mulligan estate into revealing the safe’s code by threatening to expose compromising photos found in Harry’s notebook. The heist commences with Belle creating a distraction; Veronica and her team incapacitate security personnel and access the safe. Tom Mulligan confronts them during the raid, injuring Alice before Linda fatally shoots him.

While fleeing with the stolen money, they are chased by Jatemme who abducts Belle and escapes with their van. They manage to force him off-road, killing him and reclaiming their cash. Alice is hospitalized; Veronica returns alone where Harry appears intending to steal $1 million needed to keep Mulligan silent about his feigned death. After revealing his plan to start fresh with Amanda and their child following Marcus’s passing and his marriage breakdown, Harry attempts to kill Veronica but she kills him first and frames him for Tom Mulligan’s murder.

Jack Mulligan wins the alderman election amid public sympathy over his father’s demise. Linda reopens her store; Alice starts her own business; Belle moves away. Veronica makes a substantial donation toward rebuilding a school library named in honor of Marcus. Later, she shares a warm reunion with Alice outside a diner.

Cast

  • Viola Davis portrays Veronica Rawlings, a delegate for the Chicago teachers' union and the widow of Harry
  • Michelle Rodriguez plays Linda, proprietor of a clothing boutique and widow of Carlos
  • Elizabeth Debicki appears as Alice, the widow of Florek who becomes a sugar baby following her husband's passing
  • Cynthia Erivo is Belle, a babysitter and beautician who supports Linda's children and collaborates with Veronica's team
  • Colin Farrell acts as Jack Mulligan, a politician caught up in Veronica's scheme
  • Brian Tyree Henry takes on Jamal Manning, a crime lord and politician who asserts that Veronica is indebted to him
  • Daniel Kaluuya plays Jatemme Manning, Jamal’s brother and enforcer within the criminal organization
  • Jacki Weaver features as Agnieska, Alice’s abusive mother
  • Carrie Coon portrays Amanda, Jimmy’s widow who remains uninvolved in Veronica’s plot
  • Robert Duvall is Tom Mulligan, Jack’s father and influential figure in conflict with his son
  • Liam Neeson embodies Harry Rawlings, a notorious bank robber and Veronica’s late husband
  • Jon Bernthal appears as Florek, a member of Harry’s crew and Alice’s abusive spouse
  • Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Carlos, part of Harry’s gang and Linda’s gambling-addicted husband
  • Garret Dillahunt acts as ‘Bash’ Babiak, chauffeur to Harry and Veronica
  • Lukas Haas is David, a real estate developer who becomes involved with Alice after Florek’s death
  • Matt Walsh portrays Ken, CEO of a security firm
  • Kevin J. O'Connor plays Bobby Welsh, a disabled worker at a bowling alley with former ties to Harry
  • Jon Michael Hill appears as Reverend Wheeler
  • Coburn Goss takes on the role of Jimmy Nunn

Development and casting

The project was publicized on March 27, 2015, featuring a screenplay by Gillian Flynn and direction from Steve McQueen. By September 2016, Viola Davis had joined the ensemble. Although Jennifer Lawrence was considered for a part, scheduling conflicts prevented her participation. In November 2016, Cynthia Erivo was added to the cast. Early 2017 saw discussions with André Holland, who ultimately did not appear in the final production. Subsequently, Elizabeth Debicki, stepping into the role initially intended for Lawrence, along with Michelle Rodriguez and Daniel Kaluuya, were confirmed as cast members.

In March 2017, the addition of Liam Neeson was announced; April brought in both Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall. During May, actors including Garret Dillahunt, Jacki Weaver, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Lukas Haas, and Brian Tyree Henry joined the lineup. In June, Carrie Coon became part of the cast. By August, confirmations included both Michael Harney and Jon Bernthal. British actress Ann Mitchell, known for her role as Dolly Rawlins in the related television adaptation, made a brief appearance portraying Amanda’s mother.

Filming

Principal photography commenced on May 8, 2017, in Chicago, Illinois.

Music

The film's score was crafted by Hans Zimmer, with supplementary compositions contributed by Steve Mazzaro. Distributed by Milan Records, the soundtrack combines Zimmer's orchestral work with tracks from artists such as Nina Simone, the Cool Kids, and features an exclusive new song titled "The Big Unknown" performed by Sade.

Release

Widows had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, before being released in the United States on November 16, 2018.

Box office

The movie grossed $42.4 million domestically across the United States and Canada, alongside $33.6 million internationally, accumulating a global total of $76 million against a production budget of $42 million.

Opening in competition with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Instant Family, it was anticipated to generate between $12 and $18 million from 2,803 theaters during its initial weekend. On its opening day, the film earned $4.2 million, which included $600,000 from Thursday night previews, culminating in a $12.3 million weekend that ranked fifth at the box office. Deadline Hollywood attributed this moderate performance to insufficient marketing urgency, suggesting the studio overly depended on favorable critical reception. Other analysts, including those at Business Insider, pointed to the crowded November release window, targeted outreach toward African-American viewers, and the R-rating as factors that restricted wider audience engagement. In its second weekend, Widows experienced a 33% decline to $8.2 million ($10.5 million over the extended five-day Thanksgiving period), followed by a third weekend haul of $4.4 million.

Actress Cynthia Erivo commented on the film’s reception, emphasizing its atypical nature for a heist narrative: "There's something that's super messy about Widows, which I loved... I think that was its charm, but I'm not sure that everyone quite understood that." Director Steve McQueen shared a similar viewpoint, remarking, “People weren’t ready yet... If I made that movie today it would be different and the people behind the machine would do something different.”

Critical response

On the review compilation site Rotten Tomatoes, the movie possesses an approval rating derived from reviews, with an average score reflecting overall critic sentiment. The summarized critical viewpoint describes Widows as assembling an exceptional cast for a heist thriller that combines mainstream appeal with meaningful themes, representing a significant creative advancement for director Steve McQueen. On Metacritic, it holds a weighted mean score of 84 out of 100 based on assessments from 57 critics, signifying "universal acclaim." Audience feedback collected by CinemaScore assigned it a "B" grade, whereas PostTrak recorded a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5; meanwhile, social media analysis by RelishMix revealed varied online reactions.

Owen Gleiberman from Variety lauded McQueen’s direction alongside Davis’s portrayal, emphasizing how the narrative maintains audience support for its female leads who prioritize survival over vengeance. Eric Kohn of IndieWire granted the film an "A−," applauding McQueen’s skillful integration of depth and entertainment while tackling complex topics such as sexism and police violence within an action framework. Dirty Movies recognized it as one of the standout films of 2018 and considered it McQueen’s most compelling work since Hunger. In contrast, Leah Greenblatt at Entertainment Weekly rated it a "C+", citing its inconsistent tone and fragmented structure as drawbacks.

Top ten lists

Widows was featured prominently on many critics’ year-end top ten compilations for 2018, including:

Awards and nominations

Organization Category Nominee(s) Outcome
BAFTA Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role Viola Davis Template:Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama Widows Template:Nominated
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama Viola Davis Template:Nominated
Best Film Editing Joe Walker Template:Nominated
Best Original Score Hans Zimmer Template:Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress Elizabeth Debicki Template:Nominated
Best Editing Joe Walker Template:Nominated
African-American Film Critics Association Top 10 Films Widows Template:Nominated
Black Reel Awards Best Film Widows Template:Nominated
Best Director Steve McQueen Template:Nominated
Best Actress Viola Davis Template:Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Daniel Kaluuya Template:Nominated
Best Ensemble Francine Maisler, Mickie Paskal & Jennifer Rudnicke Template:Nominated
Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original Steve McQueen & Gillian Flynn Template:Nominated
Outstanding Cinematography Sean Bobbitt Template:Nominated
Black Film Critics Circle Best Actress Viola Davis Template:Won
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See also

Further reading

  • Viola Davis, Gillian Flynn, and Steve McQueen delve into Chicago’s criminal scene with Widows – Chicago Tribune, November 8, 2018

External links

  • Official website
  • IMDb page
  • Metacritic entry
  • Rotten Tomatoes page
  • Mojo listing
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