QUEEN & SLIM

Director
Melina Matsoukas

Starring
Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya

Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) meet for a casual meal for the very first time one night. Their differences are apparent from the get-go; she is a lawyer, an atheist and claims to have no family or friends. He says grace before chomping down his meal, doesn’t drink and owns a vehicle that has ‘trust God’ as its number plate. Nonetheless, her refreshing honesty and his resolute pursuit of her seem to be enough for their date to continue beyond dinner. While in the car, Queen and Slim are pulled over by a police officer, who is male and white. The random stop quickly and dramatically escalates resulting with shots being fired. Their night began with a Tinder date, but will now end with Queen & Slim perpetually on the run.

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Last year, a mighty film called THE HATE U GIVE, which depicted a very similar scenario and derived important and contemporary themes from this, completely took my breath away. QUEEN & SLIM takes a narrative detour to that film. It’s less interested in driving the road towards greater thematic depth that’s certainly on offer and more keen instead to become a road movie that frequently arrests the senses more so than stir ones emotions. But that doesn’t mean this story is without substance or feeling. In fact, plenty of intrigue is summoned concerning the immediate trajectory of its protagonists and the inevitable aftermath of what’s just unfolded catching up with them. While it does maintain this intrigue throughout, the levels do vary courtesy of the film’s lengthier duration and some decision making and coincidences to occur that may lessen some credibility. Minor characters come and go throughout the film. Some of which do bring a little more depth to parts of the characterisation and story. Meanwhile, in the background, the screenplay uses its central incident to generate media attention and social unrest, and naturally affiliate itself more closely to the Black Lives Matter movement.

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First-time feature film director Melina Matsoukas has plenty of past experience directing video shorts for celebrities such as Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera and Rihanna. Those heavy influences are evident here. In fact, Matsoukas even turned to Beyoncé’s sister, Solange Knowles for advice on which composer could incorporate classical, hip-hop and current pop to the film’s score. Behind the camera, the cinematography makes effective use of several locations travelled to throughout this journey. Finally, we’ve seen Daniel Kaluuya (WIDOWS, GET OUT, BLACK PANTHER) in a small handful of recent cinema releases to know what he’ll bring to this character. Therefore, his lesser seen co-star, Jodie Turner-Smith (Best known for a few TV series) is seriously top-notch and impresses.

3½ stars

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