'Queen & Slim' Trailer: Lena Waithe & Daniel Kaluuya Are Trying To Stay Alive In Melina Matsoukas' Unflinching New Drama

There’s some serious firepower behind the unflinching new Universal drama, “Queen & Slim.” It’s the powerful collaboration between trailblazing, Emmy-winning writer Lena Waithe (Netflix’s “Master of None” and Showtime’s “The Chi”) and Melina Matsoukas, the director of some iconic pop-culture experiences, including Beyonce’s “Formation” and the Nike “Equality” campaign.

That would be enough, but the film also stars Daniel Kaluuya, the breakout star of “Get Out,” who also feature is “Black Panther,” and Steve McQueen’s “Widows.” He’s an actor who’s just one role away from a gigantic break. The movie also stars Jodie Turner-Smith, in her first starring feature-film role, and when a newcomer bags a role like that out of the gate, you know they usually have the goods.

“Queen and Slim” sounds layered and complex and centers on a black couple’s first date that takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over. Here’s the official synopsis:

While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man (Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith), are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results, when the man kills the police officer in self-defense. Terrified and in fear for their lives, the man, a retail employee, and the woman, a criminal defense lawyer, are forced to go on the run. But the incident is captured on video and goes viral, and the couple unwittingly becomes a symbol of trauma, terror, grief, and pain for people across the country.

As they drive, these two unlikely fugitives will discover themselves and each other in the direst and desperate of circumstances, and will forge a deep and powerful love that will reveal their shared humanity and shape the rest of their lives.

“Queen & Slim” is said to be a compelling consciousness-raising love story that confronts racism and the life-shattering price of violence and it’s also been compared to “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Thelma & Louise,” so things definitely get amplified and lit up in the film.

Waithe wrote the script based on an original idea by bestselling author James Frey (“A Million Little Pieces,” “Katerina”). Matsoukas (executive producer of HBO’s “Insecure”) makes her feature-length directing debut on the film.

“Queen And Slim” lands in theaters November 27, 2019, and it sounds so damn good, challenging and intriguing, here’s to hoping we see it early during the fall film festival circuit.