Movie review
November 6, 2018 · 129 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Widows.
Woke representation / casting
Racially mixed female leads in a Chicago story; an interracial marriage between a Black woman and white man gets intimate screen time; casting fits the city but highlights racial and class differences among the women.
Woke political dialogue
Some talk about local elections and corruption deals; it stays practical and tied to the plot with no long activist speeches.
Identity-driven story themes
Women from different races and backgrounds form a team to survive and take control after loss; backstories touch on abuse and money troubles for women, but the heist itself drives the movie.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Shows dirty Chicago politics, a police traffic-stop shooting, segregated neighborhoods, and how broken systems push women into crime or sex work; these appear as real plot problems rather than lectures.
Review
Widows is a 2018 heist thriller set in Chicago. Four widows whose husbands died in a failed armed robbery must team up to steal millions from a corrupt politician to clear a dangerous debt. The story features a racially mixed group of women in the lead roles and includes visible story elements around race relations, a police shooting of a mixed-race young man, class divides, domestic abuse, and women stepping into crime and power in a male-run city.
Woke character or canon changes
Original 1983 British series had mostly white working-class characters; this version shifts to modern diverse Chicago, adds race, police brutality, and American politics not central in the source.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Right-leaning critics said the social themes made it preachy or hurt race discussions; one called it a clear example of woke mainstream filmmaking; the director pushed back on some reviews.
Creator track record context
Steve McQueen’s body of work and public comments center on race and social problems, which he brought into this film; other main creatives show milder or no such patterns.
Production
