Movie Review: Widows (2018)

When I first saw the trailer a few months ago for the movie "Widows" (20th Century Fox), I wasn't feeling it. Although I absolutely love Viola Davis, the movie's lead character, as previewed in the trailer, the film didn't really move me. So when I decided to give it a chance and go see an advanced screening at the inaugural Smithsonian African American Film Fest presented by the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. on 10/24, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Surrounding Davis in this thriller is a diverse cast of strong female characters including Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious), singer/actress Cynthia Erivo (Color Purple on Broadway and OITNB), and Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki. The supporting characters, from the Oscar nominated actor Liam Neeson to Emmy award winner Robert Duval to Golden Globe winner Colin Farrell and Oscar nominated Daniel Kaluuya (most recently seen in Get Out and the blockbuster Black Panther), all gave strong performances.

Two-time Oscar winner Davis carries the film which had so many plot twists that you were kept on the edge of your seat waiting to see what would happen next. She is subtly brilliant and was really the rue for this incredible gumbo of a cast. Kaluuya showed us a side of his acting we've never seen before. And Erivo showed great athleticism in her role; Rodriguez and Dibecki depicted women in different stages of coming into their own; and veteran actor Duval displayed his usual magnificence in his portrayal of an overbearing father.

Academy award winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) was the head chef tending to the rue and he delivered a great gumbo that moviegoers will enjoy consuming. Set in modern-day Chicago, the movie had everything you could ask for in an urban thriller except maybe shady cops. The story was smooth to the taste and delightfully fulfilling. Widows opens on November 16 and I encourage you to go see it. It's definitely worth the price of admission.

Also, the African American Film Fest runs through this Saturday, October 27. Most of the films they are screening are $10 and they even have some free events. Go to http://aafilmfest.si.edu for more info and tickets.

--Nona Ogunsula for womenatliberty.com 

Fences, A Classic American Story

(Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play by August Wilson)

Opens everywhere on Christmas Day 2016

“Fences” is a great American movie in the tradition of American classics like "A Raisin In The Sun", "It's A Wonderful Life", "Imitation of Life" and "Malcolm X". Led by two-time Academy award winning actor, Denzel Washington, who also directed the film, and award winning actress Viola Davis, this brilliant cast of actors reprised their roles from the 2010 run of the play on Broadway. Washington, Davis and Mykelti Williamson breathed life into these characters in such a way that the audience is able to see the humanity of and identify with these complex but lovable individuals.

The story is set in the 1950’s and finds its main character, Troy Maxson, as a married father of two sons who lives in a two story house and works as a sanitation worker (aka a “garbage man”) in the blue collar town of Pittsburgh, PA. Segregation is very much the order of the day as black men are not allowed to drive the trash trucks. These jobs are reserved for white men. In fact, we see Maxson break barriers in the film as he is the first black man to be promoted to driver in the city. He’s a hero, right? Well Troy Maxson is a complicated guy with a heart of gold but a steel fist.

FencesMovie.com

instagram.com/mykeltiwmson

           Fencesmovie.com          

Rose Maxson, played by Viola Davis, is your everyday woman of the time. She’s a housewife that cooks, cleans, holds the family together and is active in her church. Her life would appear simple, but as it is in the real world, real life is never simple. Ms. Davis helps us see who the real hero and “stable one” is in the family even though she is married to a hard-working, responsible man who brings his entire paycheck home to her. Modern day feminists and womanists might look down on Rose for the choices that she made especially after she is betrayed. However, Viola’s Oscar-worthy performance helps us understand Rose’s choices and leaves us with no criticism for this character.

Mykelti Williamson plays, Gabriel, the disabled war veteran brother of Troy whose war injury settlement made it possible for the family to buy a modest home in an all-black section of town. Mykelti delivered an amazingly simple, but wonderfully nuanced performance of an individual with a mental disability. I loved the interaction between Lyons, Troy’s oldest son, played by Russell Hornsby and Gabriel. It portrayed the true love, patience and acceptance that you will find in families of an individual with special needs.

One of the overarching themes in this movie is how easy it is to become a victim to a cycle of pain even when you have fought hard to be nothing like and tried to get far away from the thing that has caused you so much pain in your life. The masterful performance of Stephen Henderson (Troy’s co-worker and best friend) shows us what it means to be a true friend in good and bad times. Jovan Adepo, Troy’s youngest son Cory, and Sanyya Sidney, remind us that love is not perfect but it can be beautiful if we allow ourselves to be open to the reality of love and not what we see in fairy tales.

Fences is truly an amazing story. It's an American story. It’s a family movie. Go see it Christmas Day!

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****Cast of Fences at New York advance screening:

Check out this clip of Denzel Washington giving life advice at an advance screening of the film in New York City on December 18, 2016:

"Fight For Your Dreams"

http://motivationalmoments-vwo.blogspot.com/2016/12/fight-for-your-dreamsdenzel-washington.html

#LeadershipTuesdays: Women And The Media--Miss Representation?

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY provides a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. Gloria Steinem said in a New York Times article that, "it's hard to think of anything except air, food and water that is more important than the media". Given the importance of the media, what do you believe that the images of women we see on television and in film are telling us about the value and worth of women in our society?

Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence of the 14th District of Michigan recently hosted a forum at the Congressional Black Caucus' 45th Annual Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. to discuss this topic. Entitled "Miss Representation: How Women Are Portrayed In The Media" (based on a documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsom), panelists from the national and local media as well as women from national advocacy groups and public relations professionals led a discussion that helped the audience understand their power to change how women are currently being portrayed in the media.

Today's Leadership Tuesdays features a video commentary and interviews from the seminar as well as an excerpt from actress Viola Davis' acceptance speech at the 67th Emmy Awards where she made history by winning Best Actress In A Lead Role In A Drama Series.

Check out the video and leave a comment.
   

 

 

For more information about Leadership Tuesdays, go to WOMEN AT LIBERTY. To view the trailer from the documentary, click Miss Representation.