From Portside Culture <[email protected]>
Subject REVIEW: The true genius of ‘Queen & Slim’ is in the journey, not the destination (SPOILERS)
Date December 4, 2019 1:00 AM
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[Queen & Slim is all of us in a time of crisis. Their crisis was
evident; on the run from the law. Our crisis is the reality of what it
means to be Black in America today. ] [[link removed]]

PORTSIDE CULTURE

REVIEW: THE TRUE GENIUS OF ‘QUEEN & SLIM’ IS IN THE JOURNEY, NOT
THE DESTINATION (SPOILERS)  
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Cortney Wills
December 2, 2019
The Grio
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_ Queen & Slim is all of us in a time of crisis. Their crisis was
evident; on the run from the law. Our crisis is the reality of what it
means to be Black in America today.  _

, Queen & Slim (Warner Brothers)

 

While the main plot of _Queen & Slim_ tackles big issues like police
brutality and the plight of Black folks in America today, the genius
of the film lies in the intricate details.

Through the title characters, (who are actually unnamed until the last
moments of the film) LENA WAITHE manages to illuminate the
complexities and vastness of the Black experience, while zeroing in on
two very specific people. JODIE TURNER-SMITH is mesmerizing as a
buttoned-up, high achieving defense attorney who’s led by an intense
desire for justice. DANIEL KALUUYA is flawless as Slim. He is more
easy-going, and doesn’t expect too much from anyone. He relishes the
simple things in life like faith and family and accepts the way things
are without much thought given to how they should be. 

Daniel Kaluuya & Jodie Turner-Smith on their reactions to ‘Queen &
Slim’: “I was speechless”
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When confronted by an overly-aggressive police officer, another
dichotomy is presented. While both characters recognize that this
officer is out of bounds, Slim is intent on complying with the
irrational demands, willing to accept that this is par for the course
when a Black man dares to get behind the wheel. Queen, on the other
hand, is hell-bent on asserting their rights, even though she’s
equally aware of how quickly these interactions can turn from tense to
deadly. 

_Queen & Slim_ plays out the way you know it will. They flee, they
fall in love, they die. 

But like the old adage explains: it’s the journey, not the
destination. In this film and in this life; it’s the little things
that make it truly remarkable. 

My reaction to the film wasn’t immediate. It bubbled up over time,
the images festering hours after I left the theater.

Given the proven talents of the women behind the film, my expectations
were high going in. MELINA MATSOUKAS’ knack for capturing the
beauty of Blackness on screen was on full-display and I couldn’t
recall a time where I had seen a Black woman take up the space that
Jodie Turner-Smith did, ever. We got to learn every curve of her
figure, every angle of her face so intimately, it seemed like I must
have seen her in 20 films before. I could pull her up in my memory the
way I can with JULIA ROBERTS’ mouth (a feature that was ingrained
in my mind somewhere between the fifth and fiftieth time I
watched _Pretty Woman_ or _My Best Friend’s Wedding_ growing
up).

The stunning visuals made such an impact after one watch, my mind was
blown. The music was curated so precisely it served as a heartbeat of
the film, providing another element to marvel at. Still, there were
several moments that nagged at me, seemingly simple sentences that I
knew were loaded with meaning. 

_Did I just watch Thelma & Louise with Black folks?_ 

I dreamt about it that night. I awoke with an entirely different
opinion than the one I had as the credits rolled. 

_Why did they run when the dash-cam footage could clearly show they
were the victims of this racist cop? _

_She’s a lawyer. Why didn’t she realize that this was a clear case
of self defense?_ 

Because it didn’t matter. Because it doesn’t matter. This wasn’t
a question of fairness or of how things should be. It was a portrait
of how things are. In this country at this moment, it doesn’t matter
if you’re right or wrong, or if the circumstances are fair or not.
If you’re Black, there’s only one way this story ends. 

_Why weren’t her white pants more bloodied after she got shot in the
leg? How could she rock those snake-skin boots with a gunshot
wound? _

For a film so loaded with big issues and matters of life and death,
the pace seemed slower than it should have. They were way too
relaxed. 

_Who dafuq would pull over to dance when you’re running for your
life? Why are these two people being hunted by the entire country
posing for photos when they should be hauling ass to Cuba? _

The lack of chaos, the lack of panic, and the lack of urgency that
disturbed me while I watched intrigued me once I had time to reflect
on the magnitude of those choices.

They’re choosing to live while they know they’re going to die.
They’re choosing to feel free despite knowing they will never be
free again—or never were to begin with.

WATCH: Melina Matsoukas on casting British leads in ‘Queen &
Slim’: “All they see is Blackness”
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If nothing else, _Queen & Slim_ is a snapshot of this moment in
time.  The harsh reality for Black people in this country is that it
makes no difference if you believe in God or don’t, have a job or
have a career, love your family, pay your taxes, or don’t. 

All that matters is that the skin that you’re in is a threat.
You’re something to defend against at all costs, in any form. That
skin means you will not prove victorious against injustice. You will
not escape. That skin means you will not live.

Perhaps that’s what is so disheartening, so painful, and so
frustrating about the ending we all knew was coming. Of course we
would rather see these two people who embody any and every Black
person you know in some form or fashion make it out alive. But this
film is not a fantasy. Our heroes do not get away. And somehow,
they’re heroes anyway. Why? Because they lived. 

Ernest (aka Slim) states that his measure of a life well-lived is
simple. He wants to be seen, loved, missed, by one person. That is
all. 

Queen (aka Angela) has a very different standard for success. She
wants to be excellent. She wants to leave a mark on the world. By the
end of the film, they both live out those very different dreams,
through the same exact experience. 

They couldn’t be any more different or any more alike. 

At first, the love story annoyed me. There wasn’t an instant
attraction or fiery passion between these two unlikely lovers. Their
connection was a slow-build after they were bound together in an
instant. Their love unfolded the way it often does. Slowly.
Unexpectedly. Surprisingly. Real love makes you question everything
you thought you knew about yourself before this other person came into
the picture and changed it all. It doesn’t happen because of
intentional praise or met expectations. Just like some people believe
you can’t change someone. I think this movie shows that love changes
everything and it exists despite the circumstances. 

They have to dance anyway. They have to snap a photo anyway. They have
to fall in love anyway or else they would never live out their
dreams. 

Just this year, I have seen more film and television plots revolving
around police brutality than I can list and each time, no matter how
exquisitely executed the project is, it feels like old hat. I know
this story, I get how much it sucks. Now what? Just like when I read
another name of an unarmed Black person gunned down by police, or see
a school shooting unfold on the news. It’s paralyzing. It’s
terrifying. And I’m nearly numb to it. 

It’s not because I don’t care. It’s not because I’m not
scared. In fact, it’s because I am so incredibly scared that the
only way I can drive my kids to school or let my husband drive to work
each day is by convincing myself that it won’t happen to me. I have
to pretend I have a choice in the matter of whether or not my son
makes it home tonight or I’ll stop living.

As a piece of protest art, _Queen & Slim_ does its job in every way.
It is a protest against so many things. It is a battle cry to our
people. It’s a protest against today. 

Today, we are forced to choose sides, to make judgements, to cancel or
contribute to whatever the issue of the day is. We judge each other,
we judge ourselves. It lies at the core of so many moments. Why did
the Black boy kill the Black police officer? Because all he knows is
that all cops are bad. Why did the Black police officer who seemed
like a sell out let them go while the Black man who looked like he
would be down for the cause ultimately sell them out? 

The fact that a Black man is the one who turned them in was one of the
most infuriating parts of the script and also the most enlightening.
As much as we as a community like to think we’re in this together,
the fact is, we’re not. How often do we see Black folks picking and
choosing when to lift each other up and when to tear each other down?
How often does the success of one incite scorn from the other? As
white America continues to judge and ridicule us, who is a more
outspoken critic of Black women than the Black man? Or the Black
woman?

Art asks questions without providing an answer. Art pushes boundaries
we thought were set in stone. Art provoke, angers, frustrates,
comforts, and confuses. Art immortalizes pain and contextualizes the
abstract. 

_Queen & Slim_ is all of us in a time of crisis. Their crisis was
evident; on the run from the law. Our crisis is the reality of what it
means to be Black in America today. 

“Thank you for this journey, no matter how it ends.”

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