Two African Americans, Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) go on a Tinder date and it takes an unexpected turn when they are pulled over by a white Policeman over a minor traffic violation. The situation escalates quickly and the police officer shoots Queen's leg to prevent her from recording the ordeal while Slim takes the officer's gun and shoots him in self-defense. They go on the run and are labeled cop killers by the media. They encounter different people while on the run as they try to reach Cuba.
From Get Out to Black Panther and Widows, Daniel Kaluuya has become one of those actors I get excited to see because he always delivers an unforgettable performance. As Slim, he was brilliant and his undeniable chemistry with Turner-Smith's Queen was one of the forces that kept this movie together. The relationship doesn't start out so great as Queen seemed very uninterested but as they go on the run, they quickly warm up to each other. Lena Waithe did an incredible job with the screenplay and the symbols and statements made by the characters were very rich.
While on the run, Queen and Slim come in contact with different people. Young, old, white, black, criminals and even policemen but sometimes what you think of a specific character ends up being false.
One of the most powerful scenes in the film was the riot scene which intercuts with a sex scene with the leads. I feel like both scenes were too powerful and could have been on their own instead of intercutting with each other. Nevertheless, It was still an unforgettable moment in the film. The visuals in Queen and Slim were breathtaking and I couldn't get enough of the astonishing shots of the landscapes. I was in awe of how beautiful the two leads looked in every scene. The soundtrack draws you deeper into the story and leaves you wanting more. From Vince Staples, 6LACK, Mereba, Bilal, Rapahel Saadiq and Burna Boy, it's obvious how much work they put into making the film.
Melina Matsoukas directed a very powerful and visually rich film with well written characters that leaves the audience engaged from beginning till the end. At the end, I was speechless at how tragically beautiful it was. I'm still surprised it didn't get more love this award season because it's an unforgettable film.
Queen and Slim premiered on Saturday, the 15th of February in Nigeria and it's showing in cinemas across the country.
GENRE Romantic Crime Drama
SCREENPLAY Lena Waithe
DIRECTOR Melina Matsoukas
STARRING Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine
RELEASE DATE Nov 27th, 2019 (USA), February 15th, 2020 (Nigeria)
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