Queen & Slim | |
---|---|
Directed by | Melina Matsoukas |
Screenplay by | Lena Waithe |
Story by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Tat Radcliffe |
Edited by | Pete Beaudreau |
Music by | Devonté Hynes |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 132 minutes [2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $17–20 million [3] [4] |
Box office | $47.9 million [1] [5] |
Queen & Slim is a 2019 American romantic road crime drama film directed by Melina Matsoukas (in her feature directorial debut) and with a screenplay by Lena Waithe from a story by James Frey and Waithe. The film tells the story of a young couple (Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith) who go on the run after killing a police officer, in self-defense, in the heat of an argument during a traffic stop that had quickly escalated. Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson and Indya Moore also star.
Queen & Slim had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 14, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 27, 2019, by Universal Pictures. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Kaluuya and Turner-Smith's lead performances, Matsoukas' direction and its overall theme and message. It grossed $47 million on a $20 million budget.
In 2019, after a client of hers is executed by the state, "Queen", a black criminal defense attorney, has an awkward and disappointing dinner with her Tinder date "Slim" in an Ohio diner. As he drives her home from what will be their one and only date, they are pulled over by a white police officer who searches Slim and his trunk without cause. When Slim mildly asks the officer to hurry as it is cold outside, the officer draws his gun on Slim. Queen angrily gets out to confront the officer, reaching for her phone, and he shoots her in the leg. Slim tackles the officer and a scuffle ensues, resulting in Slim grabbing the officer's gun and shooting him dead. Taking the gun and throwing away their phones, Queen tells Slim they must go on the run or else spend their lives in prison.
Out of gas, they flag down a passing Latino driver, Edgar, who turns out to be a Kentucky sheriff. He receives an APB about the officer's death and realizes Queen and Slim are the suspects. They take his truck at gunpoint, leaving him in the trunk of Slim's car, despite his offering to help them. They pay a young black boy to order them food, and he reveals that dashcam footage of their confrontation with the officer has gone viral. They accidentally strike the boy's father with the truck, but he is supportive of their actions — the police officer Slim shot having killed an unarmed black man two years earlier — and they drive him to a hospital. Slim has an unsettling encounter with a gas station clerk after letting him hold the gun.
They arrive in New Orleans at the house of Queen's estranged Uncle Earl, a pimp, and Slim proposes they escape to Cuba. After a police officer notices their truck, Earl gives them money and another car to reach Johnny Shepherd, a friend whose life he saved while serving overseas. Queen and Slim bond while dancing at a bar, where they are recognized by sympathetic locals, and stop to admire a horse by the road. Their car breaks down, forcing them to give all their money to a black mechanic, whose teenage son Junior expresses his admiration for them; Slim has Junior take their picture.
Slim calls his father, who cuts the call short; it is revealed that law enforcement was listening in, but his father refuses to cooperate. Queen takes Slim to visit the grave of her mother, who was accidentally killed by her Uncle Earl during a disagreement; Queen successfully defended him in her first trial. Slim comforts Queen, and they have sex in the car. At a protest in support of the fugitives, Junior is urged to leave by a compassionate black officer, whom he impulsively shoots in the face, and is himself killed.
Queen and Slim reach the home of Shepherd and his wife, who reveal that a $500,000 bounty has been placed on them, and Shepherd gives them directions to a man in Florida. A neighbor sees them arrive, and a SWAT team raids the house but fails to find them, hidden in a crawlspace under the Shepherds' bed. The next day, they sneak out of the house through a window and Queen dislocates her shoulder, which Slim resets, but her cry alerts a black officer stationed outside. He discovers them about to flee in the Shepherds' car but lets them escape.
They reach the Florida address and sleep in the car, awakened in the morning by a black man with a shotgun. They follow the man to his trailer where he makes a call, telling them a friend can help them escape by plane. He drives them to the tarmac and Queen and Slim walk toward a waiting plane, but a squad of police cars arrives on the scene. Joining hands, they declare their love for each other, but Queen is shot dead by an overeager officer. Ignoring police commands, an unarmed Slim carries Queen's body toward the officers and is gunned down as well.
The people Queen and Slim encountered react to news reports of their deaths; the Florida man has collected the bounty, while the police have falsely claimed that both Queen and Slim were armed when they were shot, despite footage showing the opposite. Their real names are revealed to be Angela Johnson and Ernest Hines, and hundreds attend their funeral, viewing them as martyrs as Junior's photo of them becomes a symbol across the country.
On July 19, 2018, it was announced that production company Makeready had won a bidding war to co-finance the dramatic thriller film Queen & Slim, scripted by Lena Waithe from an original idea by James Frey, which would star Daniel Kaluuya and be directed by Melina Matsoukas. [6] In November 2018, Jodie Turner-Smith was cast to star opposite Kaluuya. [7] In March 2019, Chloë Sevigny joined the cast of the film. [8]
Principal photography began in January 2019. [9] [10] Production concluded on March 22, 2019. [11]
The score album for Queen & Slim was composed by English musician Devonté Hynes. [12] On choosing the composer, Matsoukas stated she wanted a "black composer that could live between classical, hip-hop, and pop that's current", further asking "Who would be our current Quincy Jones?". Matsoukas then turned to Solange Knowles for advice, Knowles suggested Hynes. [13]
Queen & Slim had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 14, 2019. [14] It was theatrically released in the United States on November 27, 2019, by Universal Pictures. It was released in the United Kingdom in January 2020. [15]
Queen & Slim grossed $43.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $3.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $47.7 million. [5]
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Knives Out , and was projected to gross $12–16 million from 1,625 theaters over its five-day opening weekend. [3] It made $1.7 million on its first day, Wednesday, and $2.4 million on Thursday, which was Thanksgiving Day. It went on to gross $11.9 million during its opening weekend (a five-day total of $16 million), finishing fourth at the box office. [16] In its second weekend the film made $6.5 million (a drop of 45%), remaining in fourth. [17]
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 83% based on 223 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Stylish, provocative, and powerful, Queen & Slim tells a gripping fugitive story steeped in timely, thoughtful subtext." [18] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 5 out of 5 stars, with 79% saying they would definitely recommend it. [16]
Mark Kermode of The Guardian assigned the film four out of five stars writing: "in the end it's the love story that makes the film matter, conjured with enough electricity to allow the polemics of the head to be swept along by the passions of the heart." [20] Johnny Oleksinki of New York Post praised Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith's lead performances. [21] Adam White of The Independent labelled it "simultaneously beautiful and troubling" and praised Melina Matsoukas' directing. [22]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
African-American Film Critics Association | December 10, 2019 | Impact Award | Melina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe and James Frey | Won | [23] |
Top 10 Best Films | Won | ||||
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards | January 10, 2020 | Best Woman's Breakthrough Performance | Jodie Turner-Smith | Nominated | [24] |
ASCAP London Awards | October 21, 2020 | Top Music Film Awards | Devonté Hynes | Won | [25] |
Austin Film Critics Association Awards | January 6, 2020 | Best First Film | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | [26] |
BET Awards | June 28, 2020 | Best Movie | Queen & Slim | Won | [27] |
Black Film Critics Circle Awards | December 19, 2019 | Best Picture | Melina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe and James Frey | Nominated | [27] |
Best Original Screenplay | Lena Waithe | Won | |||
Black Reel Awards | February 6, 2020 | Outstanding Film | Melina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe and James Frey | Nominated | [28] |
Outstanding Director | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Emerging Director | Won | ||||
Outstanding Actress | Jodie Turner-Smith | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Actor | Daniel Kaluuya | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original | Lena Waithe | Nominated | |||
Outstanding First Screenplay | Won | ||||
Outstanding Original Score | Dev Hynes | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Cinematography | Tad Radcliffe | Won | |||
Outstanding Costume Design | Shiona Turini | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Production Design | Karen Murphy | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Original Song | "Collide" (by Tiana Major9 and EarthGang) | Won | |||
"Guarding the Gates" (by Lauryn Hill) | Nominated | ||||
Costume Designers Guild Awards | January 28, 2020 | Excellence in Contemporary Film | Shiona Turini | Nominated | [29] |
Directors Guild of America Awards | January 25, 2020 | Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | [30] |
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | December 23, 2019 | Best First Film | Melina Matsoukas | Won | [31] |
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards | February 6, 2020 | Best Music Supervision for Films Budgeted Under $25 Million | Kier Lehman | Won | [32] |
Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards | January 14, 2020 | Best First Film | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | [33] |
Best New Filmmaker | Nominated | ||||
Hollywood Music in Media Awards | November 20, 2019 | Outstanding Music Supervision - Film | Kier Lehman | Nominated | [34] |
Best Soundtrack Album | Queen & Slim Soundtrack | Nominated | |||
Hollywood Critics Association Awards | January 9, 2020 | Best First Feature | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | [35] |
Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards | January 19, 2020 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Music Underscore | Joseph S. DeBeasi | Nominated | [36] |
NAACP Image Awards | February 22, 2020 | Outstanding Motion Picture | Queen & Slim | Nominated | [37] |
Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | Daniel Kaluuya | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Jodie Turner-Smith | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Breakthrough Role in a Motion Picture | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album | Queen & Slim Soundtrack | Nominated | |||
National Board of Review | December 3, 2019 | Best Directorial Debut | Melina Matsoukas | Won | [38] |
Online Association of Female Film Critics | December 23, 2019 | Breakthrough Filmmaker | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | [39] |
Online Film Critics Society Awards | January 6, 2020 | Best Debut Feature | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | [40] |
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | December 15, 2019 | Best Original Screenplay | Lena Waithe | Nominated | [41] |
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards | December 8, 2019 | Best First Feature | Melina Matsoukas | Nominated | [42] |
Women Film Critics Circle Awards | December 9, 2019 | Best Woman Storyteller | Lena Waithe | Nominated | [43] |
Best Equality of the Sexes | Queen & Slim | Nominated | |||
Best Screen Couple | Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith | Nominated | |||
Josephine Baker Award | Queen & Slim | Runner-up |
Lena Kathren Headey is an English actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award nomination. She was nominated for a Saturn Award for her portrayal of the Spartan queen in 300 (2006).
Daniel Kaluuya is an English actor, writer, director and producer. Who has worked on both screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2021, he was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
Melina Matsoukas is an American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time MTV Video Music Awards winner for her "We Found Love" and "Formation" music videos. She was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the American Film Institute in 2019. Her directorial debut in film was Queen & Slim, starring Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya, and written by Lena Waithe. She then worked as executive producer and director for television series Insecure, being nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2020.
Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American filmmaker. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.
Get Out is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Catherine Keener and Betty Gabriel. The plot follows a young black man (Kaluuya), who uncovers shocking secrets when he meets the family of his white girlfriend (Williams).
Lena Waithe is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi (2018–present) and the BET comedy series Boomerang (2019–20) and Twenties (2020–21). She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim (2019) and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them (2021–present).
The Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director is an award presented annually by the Black Reel Awards (BRA). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry.
Widows is a 2018 neo-noir heist thriller film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by Gillian Flynn and McQueen, based upon the 1983 British television series of the same name. The plot follows four Chicago women who attempt to steal $5 million from the home of a prominent local politician in order to pay back a crime boss missing money stolen by the women's husbands before they were killed in a botched getaway attempt. A British-American co-production, the film stars Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki in the title roles alongside Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson in an ensemble supporting cast.
The Hate U Give is a 2018 American coming-of-age teen drama film produced and directed by George Tillman Jr. from a screenplay by Audrey Wells, based on the 2017 young adult novel of the same name by Angie Thomas. The film was produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Robert Teitel and Tillman Jr., and stars Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Lamar Johnson, KJ Apa, Sabrina Carpenter, Common, and Anthony Mackie, and follows the fallout after a high school student witnesses a police shooting.
"Thanksgiving" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American comedy-drama streaming television series Master of None. The episode was released on Netflix on May 12, 2017, along with the rest of the second season. It was written by series creator Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe, who star as Dev Shah and Denise. Melina Matsoukas served as the episode's director.
Kiandra "KiKi" Layne is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles in such films as the romantic drama If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), the drama Native Son (2019), the action superhero film The Old Guard (2020), and the romantic comedy Coming 2 America (2021).
Onward is a 2020 American animated urban fantasy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Dan Scanlon, produced by Kori Rae, and written by Scanlon, Jason Headley, and Keith Bunin. The film stars the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer. Set in a suburban fantasy world for the modern day, the film follows two elf brothers named Ian and Barley Lightfoot who set out on a quest to find an artifact that will temporarily revive their deceased father, Wilden for twenty-four hours.
The 19th BET Awards were held on June 23, 2019 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony celebrated achievements in entertainment and honors music, sports, television, and movies. Cardi B received the most nominations with seven, and won the most awards with two, including for Album of the Year.
Jodie Turner-Smith is a British actress. She made her feature film debut in The Neon Demon (2016) and has since acted in Queen & Slim (2019), After Yang (2022), and White Noise (2022). She is also known for her television roles in the TNT series The Last Ship (2017), the Syfy series Nightflyers (2018), and for portraying the title role in the Channel 5 series Anne Boleyn (2021).
Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed and produced by Shaka King, who wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, based on a story by the pair and Kenny and Keith Lucas. The film is about the betrayal of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal, an FBI informant. Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Dominique Thorne, and Martin Sheen also star.
The 91st National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in film for 2019, were announced on December 3, 2019.
Twenties is an American single-camera comedy series created by Lena Waithe. The plot is semi-autobiographical and follows "a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia, who spend most of their days talking 'ish' and chasing their dreams." The show stars Jonica T. Gibbs, Christina Elmore, Gabrielle Graham, Sophina Brown, and Big Sean. It premiered on BET on March 4, 2020. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 13, 2021.
Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Melina Matsoukas' 2019 film Queen & Slim. It was released on November 15, 2019, through Motown Records.