Queen & Slim

Atatiana Jefferson
Botham Jean
Oscar Grant
Walter Scott
Trayvon Martin
Freddie Gray
Tamir Rice
Michael Brown
Alton Sterling
Ramarley Graham

These names ring a bell don't they. They should. 10 African American people murdered by the police. Just a fraction of those killed so far this century. Their crime? Being the wrong colour. Minding their own business. In their own homes. In their car. Queen & Slim is a new film that asks what if things happened differently? What would happen next?

Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) & Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) are after having the worst first date ever. An awkward dinner ends badly when both are pulled over by a trigger happy traffic cop. Queen, a criminal lawyer knows that their only chance of survival is to run and soon they're heading south and a video of their police encounter has gone viral. Mainstream media is painting them as violent criminals but the black communities they encounter on their way are seeing things rather differently.

Films don't get much more topical than this one. Race in America. The cult of celebrity. It's something else. A rage filled watch paradoxically laced with warmth. A film that puts a magnifying lense on the trauma faced by African Americans everyday and then asks "what if?" The result is a nail bitingly tense & a heartbreakingly romantic watch. Our duo growing closer as the film moves on. Every smile, glimpse, touch ensuring our support for them grows exponentially. Usually watching a romance blossom would be a cause for joy but here it's a reason for fear as the feeling of doom hangs over them constantly. Jodie Turner-Smith & Daniel Kaluuya (both British actors with pitch perfect US accents ) play off each other brilliantly. They've chemistry to burn and it almost feels voyeuristic getting to eavesdrop on their conversations together. Tête-à-têtes about Luther Vandross, black owned businesses & the noise of loud eating segue into heart to hearts about tragedy, betrayal and loss.

As we get to know Queen & Slim we get an insight into the African American psyche from the people they encounter on their journey. The downtrodden, the forgotten (Bokeem Woodbine as Queen's PTSD riddled Uncle is excellent), people who've faced so much hardship they've become indifferent, the younger generation saying NO MORE to a police force openly declaring war on them who see Queen & Slim's situation as a catalyst for change. It's a film you'd hope people would take to heart, a film that puts a face on the stories regularly cropping up in the news. It's a watch that will terrify a certain type of American, those who never want to look up at a black man (Queen says as much in a lovely roadside encounter with a horse). Late in the film there's a sex scene between 2 black people, something Hollywood tends to be terrified of, intercut with a black lives matter rally. It's a fiery moment, drenched in rage and passion and it's going to make the red cap gang choke on their cheerios.

It's hard to believe this is Melina Matsoukas' first film. It feels accomplished and it looks fantastic. Overhead shots closing in on the main couple, showing how claustrophobic their world is getting, widescreen compositions placing them on one side of the screen and their pursuers on the other, two worlds apart with nothing but danger in between. A camera shot dropping below a floor to where a couple hide in a scene that can't help but bring to mind old stories about the underground railroad and the methods they used to conceal escaped slaves. It's a film that uses visual artistry to convey all manner of meaning, Matsoukas knowing that some images say far more than words.

Go see this if it turns up in a cinema near you. It's essential viewing. A couple of plot points late in the story feel a bit formulaic but they won't take the sheen off this. It's an important watch.