Steve McQueen continues to surprise. After the Oscar-winning “12 Years A Slave” you might have thought the London-born filmmaker would attempt another thought-provoking epic and he has, in a way. “Widows” is a genre movie with quite a bit to say about the environment that fosters criminals at every level of society. Basically, everyone is out to get money. Whether through political power, intimidation or as simply a means for survival.
The film is based on a popular BBC TV series, of the same title, that aired in the UK beginning in 1983. As McQueen notes in our interview, the series left a profound impression on him as a youngster, and he always thought of tackling a new version. Like the original, this current “Widows” centers on four women whose husband or boyfriends have been killed in the middle of a major bank heist. They are then charged with pulling off another heist to make up for their loved one’s mistake.
READ MORE: “Widows” Is A Stylish Thriller Starring Viola Davis [Review]
This quartet of talented actresses including Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo who, the two former in particular, giving riveting performances. Brian Tyree Henry is an up and coming Chicago politician who has his own criminal enterprise while Daniel Kaluuya plays his second in command who increasingly dangerous as the movie plays on. Mixed up in this showdown is Colin Farrell as a politician trying to forge his own identity far from the shadow of his corrupt father, played by Robert Duvall.
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During a phone interview earlier this month, McQueen passionately talked about the film and how it’s more than just a typical studio thriller.
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The Playlist: Where did your passion to make this come from to turn what was a mini-series into a feature-length movie?
Steve McQueen: It has been 35 years, searching your soul. [I was] watching TV, and this program came on, called “Widows,” written by Lynda La Plante. I just sort of identified with the women. Them being judged by their appearance, and deemed not capable, and that somehow being judged as a hard child in London and hated. Also, seeing them sort of put [it on] it’s head and circumnavigate the stereotype is wonderful. This thrill of how they accomplished what they did.
Did you go to New Regency to get it off the ground?
Yes, they knew I wanted to make it. It’s funny. I met Lynda back in Paris. There was an occasion, and there was a side room where there was a private audience with the Queen. The ten of us, and Ms. La Plante was in the line, with the Queen. I actually just spoke to her. What happened to “Widows”? She told me it went to Disney. I spoke to New Regency about that, and how I wanted this project for the next one. They were very supportive of me, and they got it for me.
Where did the idea come from to set it in Chicago?
It came from me. I think all those contexts I wanted to deal with, for me, were evident in Chicago. I wanted to basically place this narrative in a heightened, in a Western, [but] contemporary setting. That for me was really was Chicago, to begin with. Dealing with race. Dealing with politics, corruption, policing, religion, economics, poverty, etc., etc. There are all these aspects of life that I found in this microcosm of Chicago, but also that in the localism of Chicago was also about the globalism we all find ourselves in at this moment in time.
Where did you find the nuances of the city? It feels like you and Gillian have written something that someone would really need to know about the intricacies of the city to make it feel this authentic.
I have been visiting Chicago for 22 years. I came here, and I was invited to show up at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Chicago. At the same time, my girlfriend, who is now my longtime partner, went to the Democratic Convention when Bill Clinton was President. My journey from my starting point 20 years ago with my first introduction to Chicago until now has always been about art and politics.