Disclaimer: I LOVE heist films.
From the opening scene, I was hooked. There’s so much creative camera work on display from the beginning as we see a car chase filmed entirely from within a car (We Own the Night, another movie with Robert Duvall also did this well). It’s exquisite throughout, giving the viewer a sense of environment, lots of camera movement but never feeling too flashy, making Chicago a character itself (the shot of Colin Farrell in the car is incredible).
This is a “normie” movie. It’s the most mainstream thing Steve McQueen has ever done and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a crowdpleaser but it’s still made by an auteur director and it shows. Not sure it’ll happen but it’d be pretty damn cool if McQueen got an Oscar nomination for this. It’d also be cool if this film did great at the box office so we could get more movies about women like this and less lazy “female-version of film with men” movies. My only real issue is some stuff near the end. Things get a little rushed and not everything is super clear as to motives, with other plot aspects not being explicitly resolved. It’s not a huge deal because there is a lot that you can still infer but I don’t think it would’ve hurt the film to be more clear.
It’s a film with notable dramatic themes, particularly involving corrupt systems, gender and power dynamics etc. but Flynn and McQueen were able to convey this without being preachy about it. The themes were interwoven naturally to the story. It tells these themes through a lot of characters and a lot of storylines, but it managed to do this without feeling overblown. Instead, I always felt excited when a scene with a character we hadn’t seen for awhile popped up. The story takes its time, building up and developing characters, but I never felt bored for a second. Of course, the action is done so well that part of me wishes Steve McQueen could’ve had a bit more action, but I was still entertained when there wasn’t action going on so this wasn’t a dealbreaker.
It’s a Steve McQueen film so it shouldn’t be surprising to say that the acting is pretty consistently great. Gotta mention Daniel Kaluuya though because he scared the hell out of me. Viola Davis delivers as expected, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Ervos hopefully have bright futures ahead, Garrett Dillahunt’s character is such a sweetheart you can’t help but love him, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell bring solid work as a powerful political family while Brian Tyree Henry once again shows his range as the half crime boss, half politician, being able to be affable or threatening depending on the scene. Admittedly Carrie Coon felt underused but that’s not exactly a flaw in that I felt she largely served her purpose in the story.
I can’t believe I’m saying this about the guy who directed Shame and 12 Years a Slave but if Steve McQueen wants to do a straight-up action film next, I’d be down. If he wants to do a really depressing drama, I’d be down. My main point is that I want more Steve McQueen movies.
Also, that dog is a treasure. She already elevated Game Night, now she’s working with auteur filmmakers. She’s going places.
