BLACK LIVES MATTER (QUEEN AND SLIM)

As America convulsed from the after effects of the deaths in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breona Taylor in Louisville, the release on DVD this summer of Melina Matsoukas' fugitive drama 'Queen and Slim' could not have been more timely.

When it first appeared in US cinemas last year, the film tapped into the same anger as Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing,' Ryan Coogler's  'Fruitvale Station' and George Tillman Jr's 'The Hate U Give'.

But the events of May 2020 only served to underline how the issues raised in Matsoukas' road movie are as potent in the US today as they were in 1989 when Lee's movie was released.

Institutional racism and the use of force by police officers against African Americans will be a key challenge to the incoming Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration.

After all, former President Barack Obama has described racism as the United States' original sin.

But nowhere was this more dramatically displayed than when protesters took to the streets across the US this year, only for those demonstrating at the White House to be gassed off the streets by the police to allow President Donald Trump to have a photo op outside a nearby church.

Trump's obsession with appearing to be a strongman, his ambivalence towards the far right and his refusal to properly engage with the issue of institutional racism has raised the stakes for a new administration which has a lot to repair.

Watching Matsoukas' debut feature in this context makes it feel even more prescient.

 

The film begins with Jodie Turner-Smith's criminal defence attorney Angela 'Queen' Johnson, a criminal defence attorney on a Tinder date in an Ohio restaurant with Daniel Kaluuya's  Earnest 'Slim' Hines.

During their awkward conversation, Slim suffers a bit of a blow to his ego when Queen tells him she chose him because she felt sorry for him.

The couple seem horribly mismatched.

Queen is a smart lawyer and a bit prickly. She scoffs at the restaurant and the table service and how Slim prays before dining.

Slim is laid back, patient with the waitress and doesn't rise to his date's barbs.

But they will soon be tethered together forever as fugitives from the law.

As Slim drives Queen home, he is pulled over in the ice and snow by Sturgill Simpson's police officer who demands that he opens the truck.

The officer over-reacts when Slim asks him to hurry up and pulls a gun on him.

Events spiral out of control when Queen gets out of the car to confront the officer about harassing Slim.

When she reaches for her cellphone, the cop shoots her in the leg, only to be wrestled to the ground by Slim.

In the resultant melee, Slim grabs Police Officer Reed's gun and kills him, with footage of the incident captured on the officer's dashboard camera.

 

The panicking couple flee the scene, fearing the footage will result in them winding up in prison.

Slim's car, however, runs out of petrol.

They manage to thumb a lift in Kentucky but soon realise their driver, played by Benito Martinez, is a Sheriff who has picked up an APB with their descriptions.

Seizing his truck at gunpoint, they return to Slim's abandoned car locking him in the trunk.

It is only later when they pull in to get some fast food with the help of a young boy playing in a car park that they realise they have become heroes to some in the African American community who have seen footage of the shooting on social media.

The cop they have shot has firm - having killed an African American man before and some in the community see their action as an act of revenge.

This modern folklore hero status sits uneasily on Queen and Slim's young shoulders but their primary concern is to get to safety by fleeing to Cuba.

The couple make it to the house of Queen's Uncle Earl, a pimp played by Bokeem Woodbine who takes them in, gives them some rest and new haircuts and arranges contact with an old Army buddy - Red Hot Chilli Peppers' bassist Flea's Johnny Shepherd and his wife, played by Chloe Sevigny.

But, with the national media and social media tracking every development in the national manhunt, can Queen and Slim avoid capture and make it safely to Cuba?

Working from a tightly constructed screenplay by producer Lena Waithe, Matsoukas delivers a gripping story of two mismatched souls forced to flee because of the odds stacked against them.

Viewers will inevitably be struck by the similarities to 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' 'Bonnie and Clyde', 'True Romance' and particularly 'Thelma and Louise'.

However the harsh realities of racial politucs in the US ensure that 'Queen and Slim' never really feels like a rehash.

The film is also beautifully shot and lit by Tat Radcliffe in vibrant greens, yellows and striking crimson.

But the film's ace card is its performances from its two English leads.

In a series of recent films like 'Get Out,' 'Black Panther' and 'Widows,' Kaluuya has established himself as one of the most exciting acting finds of recent years.

But in her first major role, Turner-Smith easily goes toe to toe with him and clearly shows she also has a great career ahead of her.

It is a measure of how convincing Kaluuya and Turner-Smith are that many people watching Matsoukas' film will assume they are African American.

The alchemy between both actors is so perfect that you never doubt their characters for one minute.

To Matsoukas' credit, she wrings out convincing performances as well from Simpson, Woodbine, Flea, Sevigny, Martinez, Indya Moore as one of Earl's girls Goddess and Thom Gossom Jr as Slim's father. 

Waithe deserves a lot of credit too for a screenplay that doesn't succumb to gunplay but just bursts with humanity and authenticity.

By providing a solid foundation for Matsoukas and her cast, Waithe goes beyond sloganeering and rams home exactly why black lives matter.

Matsoukas is not the first filmmaker to graduate from doing videos and commercials for the likes of Beyonce, Wyclef Jean, Kylie Minogue, Snoop Dogg, Nike, Diesel and Stella McCartney.

But the Bronx raised director earns the right to make more movies.

Hopefully the two time Grammy and four time MTV VMAs winner will get that chance after a debut that signals a great talent.

('Queen and Slim' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on January 31, 2020 and was made available for streaming and on DVD on June 8, 2020)