By: Grace Conley

“Queen and Slim? More like Queen and Grim, this is very sad.” 

Queen & Slim is amazing. I saw this movie on Thanksgiving night, the theatre was packed and I was so glad it was. This movie is Thelma and Louise meets racial commentary. Two strangers after meeting on a tinder date, kill a cop, out of self-defense and are on the run. This gives the movie so much pressure, it all takes place over the course of 6 days, and there is never a dull moment due to this ticking clock and the fear of being found. This tension propels the movie forward and makes the timing perfect.

There are a few very well placed slow, simple, beautiful moments that give you and the characters a breath of fresh air, and those scenes are my favorite. This film really packs a punch, it has a lot to say while also having a lot of heart.

Over the course of the film, the two characters fall in love out of necessity for connection and it’s just so beautiful and heartbreaking. That being said I have two very minor issues. The first, I think the pacing and dialogue, in the beginning, was a little off and awkward to watch, maybe that’s just me but I noticed it. And 2, most of this movie is aerial shots of cars driving while cool music plays and the sky is pretty colors. It’s pretty but it happens like 100 times. But since most of this movie is in a car the filmmakers find really innovative ways to shoot car scenes and I respected that a lot.

The score is super awesome as well, each song picked very carefully. Daniel Kaluuya is phenomenal, he’s like never been in something bad. And Jodie Turner-Smith is great too, I had never heard of her before but she blew it out of the water! Melina Matsoukas is a wonderful Director and I can’t wait to see more from her.

Something that’s really interesting is that they never say the characters’ names until the very end of the movie, making it all the more impactful. I think this movie is extremely powerful and a must-see of 2019. 

VERDICT

9/6 out of 10