"Widows" is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.
Written by
Twentieth Century Fox
Plot Synopsis:
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The film opens by introducing the main characters, shown alongside a heist taking place. Veronica (Viola Davis) and Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) are happily married. Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Carlos Perelli (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) own a shop and have two children, Xavy (Alejandro Verdin) and Gracie (Bailey Walters), though it appears that Linda bears the heavier workload. Alice Gunner (Elizabeth Debicki) is abused by her husband Florek (Jon Bernthal), though he attempts to make it up by being sweet and sincere afterwards. Jimmy Nunn (Coburn Goss) kisses his wife Amanda (Carrie Coon) goodbye. The four men are seen being pursued by police after completing their heist. They make it to their safe house as a whole squad of cops follow them there. Just as the thieves are attempting to exit, the cops shoot at their car until the thieves' van explodes, killing all four men. We then see Veronica waking up alone.

In Chicago, Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) is running for the alderman position of the 18th ward. His father Tom (Robert Duvall) is a former political victor who hopes his son will follow in his footsteps. Running against Jack is Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry). Jack visits Jamal's campaign office, which is in a church, to essentially butt heads. Tom firmly demands that Jack win and to not be the first in their family to lose to a black man.

The women have to bury their husbands. Veronica attends Harry's funeral, where his remains are laid to rest beside their late son Marcus (Josiah Sheffie). Jack is in attendance, and he tells Veronica that he knew Harry very well, so he offers his services to her if she needs him. Jamal and his brother Jatemme (Daniel Kaluyya) also watch the service from afar. Amanda and Alice attend the funerals of their respective husbands. Linda is at home and tries to console Carlos's mother Lita (Socorro Santiago), but she blames Linda for what happened to Carlos because she claims that he got into that life to support her and the kids, and now his blood is on Linda's hands.

Veronica is visited by Jamal that evening. He tells Veronica that Harry stole $2 million from him, which is money he needs to fund his campaign. Jamal forcefully holds Veronica's small dog Olivia by the collar to prove he's not messing around. He orders Veronica to come up with the money within two weeks.

Linda goes to her shop to find men repossessing everything inside. When she demands an explanation, she's told that Carlos was the one who handled the lease on the store, and because he was down on payments, the store no longer belongs to Linda. Meanwhile, Alice's mother Agnieska (Jackie Weaver) suggests that she support herself by becoming an escort. When Alice says she won't do it, Agnieska smacks her.

Veronica visits someone over lewd photos involving a man having sex with a younger woman, clearly intended to blackmail him. She then goes to a bowling alley to meet a man named Bobby Welsh (Kevin J. O'Connor), who hands her a notebook left by Harry that details all of his heist activities. Veronica learns that Harry's next heist involved stealing $5 million.

At a nearby gymnasium, Jatemme's guys find two young men rapping and bring them to Jatemme. They were responsible for guarding Jamal's money that was stolen. Jatemme orders them to rap again before he executes them.

Jack is at a rally for an organization of his called Minority Women of Work, in which he sees that women of color can get their businesses off the ground. He is pressed by one reporter over another less ethical practice of his, and he walks away with his aide Siobhan (Molly Kunz). As they are being driven away, Jack complains to Siobhan about his insecurities running against Jamal and the pressure being faced by his father, but Siobhan simply tells him to suck it up.

Veronica contacts the other three widows and arranges to meet them at a spa. Linda and Alice show, but Amanda doesn't. Veronica informs the other two about the situation regarding Jamal and how Harry left behind plans for the next heist. Although hesitant, Linda and Alice reluctantly agree to join when Veronica emphasizes how much of a threat the Mannings will be to them and their families.

Jamal visits a church to speak to Reverend Wheeler (Jon Michael Hill) for an endorsement, though he appears to already be siding with the Mulligans. Jatemme also visits Bobby at the bowling alley to attack and torture him for information regarding Harry's notebook, which he says he gave to Veronica. He later calls Veronica to ask if she sold it, and she lies and says she did.

At a nearby hair salon, Belle (Cynthia Erivo) watches as her boss Breechelle (Adepero Oduye) has to give up money to a large man sent by his boss. Belle presses Breechelle for doing so, but she explains that she has to give up a cut of her earnings to the ones who allow her to keep her business afloat, namely Jack Mulligan. After work, Belle returns home to her mother Suzette (Lily Mojekwu) and daughter Bailee (Bailee Brewer), only to get a call about another job, prompting her to leave immediately and rapidly run to catch the bus. She arrives at Linda's home to babysit her children. Linda goes to join Veronica and Alice at their husbands' old hideout where Veronica gives them money to get guns and a getaway van. She also gives them the blueprints for the heist.

Alice goes to an auction to get a van and ends up paying more money than it's worth. To make things more difficult, Alice tells Veronica she can't drive, so Veronica plans to recruit Harry's old driver Bash (Garrett Dillahunt). Alice then goes to get guns and has a woman help her buy guns since she doesn't have the proper documents to purchase firearms. At the same time, Linda attempts to figure out the blueprints to the heist, but she can't make out the word on the paper. She visits a man whose house she believes to be the mark by posing as someone working for a company that owns the house, but she slips up when she mentions the man's wife, whom he says has been dead for four months. Linda breaks down when she mentions her dead husband. She and the man start kissing before Linda realizes it's wrong and she leaves. Linda later joins Alice as the two go to a shooting range to practice. Alice does well, but Linda turns out to be a lousy shot.

Alice joins the escort site and starts seeing a man named David (Lukas Haas). He turns out to be a real estate executive and spots the blueprints in Alice's room, which he identifies as being part of the Mulligan home.

Veronica finally meets with Amanda in a diner. She mentions not being able to meet with Veronica previously due to taking care of her newborn baby. Because of this, Veronica chooses not to mention anything involving the heist.

One week before the heist is to take place, the Mannings visit Bash and murder him. Veronica finds out and tells the ladies that they need a new driver. Linda notices how fast Belle is, so she invites her to join the heist. Despite Veronica's initial reservations, she agrees to let Belle join due to her take-no-shit attitude.

Veronica visits Jack to ask for help with Jamal, though he tells her there's nothing he can do, and that he learned from his father and Harry that you reap what you sow. While Veronica talks to Jack, the other ladies scope out the outside area to get a view of the external security. They also spend time at the hideout practicing how they will move the money around and how fast they need to move.

Veronica goes to Amanda's apartment with Olivia to talk to her, but she is held up by her baby. Olivia then goes to a nearby closet and starts barking. Veronica looks over on the table and sees a flask...which looks just like the one that belonged to Harry. Veronica walks over to the door, wanting to open it and not have what she's thinking confirmed, but she grabs Olivia and leaves before Amanda comes back out. Amanda goes to the closet and speaks to the man inside...and it's HARRY. Veronica drives away feeling overwhelmed.

A flashback then shows how Harry set up his guys with a decoy in the driver's seat, and he fired two shots to get the police to fire at the van just before he set off explosives to obliterate his men. Next we see Hary on a boat with Jack, as they have been working together, and Jack had ordered Harry to steal from Jamal. Another flashback shows how strained things got between Veronica and Harry just before the last heist took place. We then see back to 2008 when Marcus was driving and did an illegal U-turn to go back home and deliver something to Harry. He was pulled over by a cop and almost quickly shot to death when Marcus failed to show his hands. This broke Harry and left him desperate.

Tom meets with Jack over Jack firing the campaign manager that's been with their family for thirty years. Tom curses Jack out and orders him to have Siobhan rehire the man, but Jack tells him that he can't wait for the day that he doesn't have to talk to him anymore since Tom won't be there.

Just before the heist takes place, Veronica finds Ken (Matt Walsh), the CEO of the Mulligans' security company, and the man in the lewd photos she acquired earlier. They are of him with his niece. With her putting him in a corner, Ken gives Veronica the codes to the Mulligans' safe.

The ladies then gather for the heist later that evening. Belle distracts the security guards outside by firing flares into nearby cars. Veronica, Linda, and Alice get inside with masks and devices that disguise their voices. They make it to the safe and take all of the money, but just as they head out, Tom emerges from his room with his gun and orders the women to drop theirs. He unmasks Veronica and shoots Alice in the shoulder, wounding her, but Linda shoots and kills Tom. The ladies run out of the house and head to the van, only to find Belle held at gunpoint by Jatemme, who was sent by Jamal to take ALL the money. Jatemme hijacks the van, but the ladies give chase and ram the back of the van, causing Jatemme to crash and die. Linda then takes Alice to the hospital to get treated for her wound.

Veronica goes back to the hideout and finds Harry there. She breaks down, angry over his betrayal. He attempts to justify what he did as him having to look out for himself and his new family (Amanda and their baby). Harry turns to kill Veronica, but she shoots him dead first with the gun that Linda used to kill Tom. Veronica leaves the gun in Harry's hand and leaves with the money.

Later on, it's heard that Jack won the election by way of sympathy votes for Tom's death. Breechelle then goes into her salon and finds a bag of money left behind by Belle. She is outside with Bailee as they drive off to start a new life together. Alice is now planning to start her own business, while Linda is able to buy back the shop with her kids.

In the final scene, Alice goes to a diner to meet a friend, and she sees Veronica sitting at a nearby table. A man then enters and sits with Veronica. She gives him a large sum of her share of the money to the man so that he can help build a library, and she requests that it be named after Marcus. Afterwards, Veronica follows Alice outside and greets her warmly.

According to Steve McQueen, Colin Farrell and Robert DuVall improvised many of their scenes.
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Composer Hans Zimmer worked briefly on the original Widows (1983) TV series, as an assistant to the show's composer Stanley Myers.
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This was Steve McQueen's first feature film that did not have Michael Fassbender in the cast.
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According to Steve McQueen, the first cut of the film was closer to 3 hours long.
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The film is based on the 1983 British TV series Widows (1983).
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The West Highland terrier featured in this film also appeared in Game Night (2018).
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Tanera Marshall coached the actors on their Chicago accent. She collected samples, to avoid stereotypes, and left the choice to the director and actors to evaluate what best fit the characters. She then worked with each actor individually to refine pronunciation.
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Olivia the dog had her own trailer on the set.
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This was Steve McQueen's first film as a director since his Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave (2013).
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Jennifer Lawrence was approached for a role, but declined due to scheduling conflicts.
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To co-write the screenplay, Steve McQueen turned to Gillian Flynn, author of several hit novels, some of which were adapted to film and television, such as (Gone Girl (2014), Dark Places (2015), Sharp Objects (2018)). She was immediately seduced by the project, as much for the place given to women as for Chicago which serves as a backdrop for the film.
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The original the 1983 British TV series Widows (1983) was set in London, England. Director Steve McQueen moved the setting to Chicago, United States.
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Liam Neeson and Colin Farrell are both Irish actors, and this film was the first time they had worked together. They were both runners for James Bond, which eventually went to Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig respectively.
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The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Canada in September 2018.
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Ann Mitchell was also in the original British TV series.
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This film reunited Michelle Rodriguez and Colin Farrell, after they first appeared together in S.W.A.T. (2003).
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The film has two Academy Award winners: Robert Duvall and Viola Davis; and three Academy Award Nominees: Liam Neeson, Jacki Weaver and Daniel Kaluuya. Additionally, Davis, Duvall, and Colin Farrell have all won a Golden Globe.
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Amy Adams was rumored for a role when the film was first announced.
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Daniel Kaluuya and Jon Bernthal also worked together on Sicario (2015).
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Alice says she is Polish. She is played by Elizabeth Debicki, whose father is Polish.
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Alongside Steve McQueen, the author of Gone Girl and Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay for this movie.
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Both Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo were both attached to a Harriet Tubman biopic, released later.
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There is an Easter egg to a Black Panther reference when Daniel Kaluuya's character Jatemme Manning is sitting in a car watching Veronica (Viola Davis character) come out of the bowling ally for the first time. Black Panther is referenced when a member of the original Black Panther group is talking on the car radio. Daniel Kaluuya played good guy turned bad, W'Kabi, in the 2018 Marvel Movie Black Panther.
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Both Colin Farrell and Jon Bernthal have ties to Daredevil. Farrell played the villain bullseye in the 2003 movie "Daredevil". Bernthal guest-starred on the "Daredevil" TV series playing Frank Castle aka The Punisher.
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When Veronica goes to find Jack Mulligan in his office, you can see a poster of the "Montecchi e Capuleti" from Romeo and Juliet. In the play there were two rival families, like the Mulligans and the Mannings.
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Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya and Elizabeth Debicki all appeared in films of the Marvel comics. Farrell appeared in Daredevil (2003), Kaluuya in Black Panther (2018) and Debicki in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).
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Both Jon And Garett have appeared in one of AMC's "The Walking Dead" shows. Jon in "The Walking Dead" and Garrett in "Fear The Walking Dead".
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For Viola Davis whose character is in a relationship with Liam Neeson, showing an interracial couple is not insignificant, even in 2018.
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Both Liam Neeson and Viola Davis had appeared in films of the DC comics. Neeson appeared in Batman Begins (2005) and had a cameo in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Davis was in Suicide Squad (2016).
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Liam Neeson and Lukas Haas appeared together in Leap of Faith (1992). Haas and Robert Duvall appeared together in Rambling Rose (1991). Duvall and Colin Farrell appeared together in Crazy Heart (2009).
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-It is based upon the 1983 ITV series of the same name.- Widows get her talk and her title from a British television series written by Lynda La Plante, screenwriter of crime shows such as Suspect Number 1 and Scotland Yard, Crimes on the Thames. At the age of 13, Steve McQueen discovers the program.
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When the 'husbands' gang are surrounded and the van explodes it neatly separates into two halves and was clearly cut in two by the production crew. Real explosions are not so neat.
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Linda shoots Tom Mulligan with a revolver, but they had bought Glocks to used, which are automatics.
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After Jatemme robs them and takes their van, they are able to follow him in their own vehicle and cause him to crash, but they would not have driven any other vehicles to the scene of the heist.
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