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Widows is a 2018 British-American heist thriller film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by Gillian Flynn and McQueen, based upon the 1983 British television series of the same name. The plot follows four Chicago women who attempt to steal $5,000,000 from the home of a prominent local politician in order to pay back a crime boss from whom $2,000,000 was stolen by the women's husbands before they were killed in a botched getaway attempt. A British-American co-production, the film features Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson in an ensemble cast.

Widows premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2018 and in the United States on November 16, by 20th Century Fox.

Plot
A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows -- Veronica, Linda, Alice and Belle -- have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, Veronica joins forces with the other three women to pull off a heist that her husband was planning.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The entire cast performance of Viola Davis as Veronica Rawlings, Michelle Rodriguez as Linda, Elizabeth Debicki as Alice, Cynthia Erivo as Belle, Colin Farrell as Jack Mulligan, Brian Tyree Henry as Jamal Manning, Daniel Kaluuya as Jatemme Manning, Jacki Weaver as Agnieska, Carrie Coon as Amanda, Robert Duvall as Tom Mulligan and Liam Neeson as Harry Rawlings are excellent.
 * 2) The most frequently shared scene is the one where Jatemme punishes two of his men for losing his money by forcing them to rap and then killing them halfway through it, often cited as a high example of Daniel Kaluuya’s acting skill.
 * 3) Ann Mitchell, who was in the original series, appeared in this movie.

Reception
Widows received critical acclaim, with praise aimed at its direction, editing, screenplay and performances (particularly Davis, Debicki and Kaluuya), with critics crediting it for blending "dramatic themes with popcorn thrills". On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 396 reviews, with an average rating of 8.11/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Widows rounds up a stellar ensemble for a heist thriller that mixes popcorn entertainment with a message – and marks another artistic leap for director Steve McQueen.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 57 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars; social media monitor RelishMix noted online responses to the film were "mixed".