Queen & Slim

This right here is a sleeper hit.

“I want a ride-or-die. I just want someone that’s always gonna love me, no matter what. Someone that’s gonna hold my hand and never let it go. She got to be special, though. ‘Cause she gonna be my legacy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I ain’t going to bend the world. As long as my lady remembers me fondly, that’s all I need.”

Happy Valentine’s Day ❤

Superb. I know nothing about this movie going into it, but i was instantly charmed. The ending was very predictable, but it's the only way it could be.

This film joins so many of my favourite things: bonnie & clyde trope, road stories, epic love, daniel kaluuya, gorgeous cinematography, amazing music... I was itching to watch it, so I did as soon as it came out on digital. It lived up to every single expectation and exceeded others. I freaking LOVED it. Daniel and Jodie were incredible and their chemistry was on fire from the very first scene; the film is shot sooo beautifully, it actually reminded me so much of Moonlight, which i basically consider the most beautiful movie i've ever watched (the greenish tilt, the emotional close ups, the stillness in the movement.. just gorgeous, some shots are gonna stay in my mind for weeks). Can't wait to watch it again!

The flipside of Bonnie and Clyde - these two are innocent, mostly! Achingly sad, this is a well made film that resonates with the climate we are still living in. One day this type of film will stop being made - sadly, this won't be in the forseeable future. See it - get angry - raise your voice to make a change.

A powerful socio-political statement disguised as a road-movie

Embracing the notion that Black Lives very much Matter, the film is something of a stealth social commentary insofar as it wears the disguise of the classic genre template of a duo on the run. And it works perfectly well as a taut road-movie. However, underneath the genre elements, you'll find a condemnation of a criminal justice system that seemingly targets minorities, a celebration of black unity and cultural vibrancy, and an examination of Trump's divided America. It's not an angry diatribe per se, certainly not in the sense that some of Spike Lee's films are, but it does attempt to Speak Truth to Power and it is fundamentally of the moment. It also happens to be a very fine film, albeit a little too long and with some strange tonal inconsistencies.

For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/Z5qLV

the ending is sad. there's always someone willing to sell out.

A solid movie with something to say. The characters are well developed. The acting is good. The movie is a little long, like there was one too many things that sidetracked them. Also some of the choices the characters made were questionable.

_Queen & Slim_ is a road movie that takes its sweet time to get where it's going but that's fine because the time is sweet and if the film wasn't in a hurry, neither was I.

Sure there were some scenes that tried too hard to be poetic and some speeches that reached far too much for meaning and these would've been better left on the cutting room floor. But in the end what mattered is that they did try, and the desire with which they strived is what gives the film its poetry and makes the movie meaningful.

One of the more beautiful aspects of _Queen & Slim_ is that it is very much pro-black without being anti-white, anti-male or even anti-cop. They should've called it _Black Book_ because it's the film _Green Book_ liked to think it was, or _African American Honey_ because its imagery of the sprawling expanse of the United States of Black America made this film the treasure it is.

As for the occasional missteps, the gorgeous soundtrack glosses over the flaws and helps deliver a film of rare raw and polish. I just hope the white privilege (myself included) filling the Parisian cinema I was at heard the message this movie was making.