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Widows
Movie

Widows

2018 • Unknown

Woke Score
7
out of 10

Plot

A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, they join forces to pull off a heist.

Overall Series Review

Widows is a crime thriller set in contemporary Chicago that uses the framework of a heist movie to explore themes of race, class, and gender. After their criminal husbands are killed, four women from different backgrounds are forced together to pay off a massive debt to a ruthless, aspiring politician. The film presents a scathing critique of the city's political machine, showing entrenched corruption among the privileged white ruling class and parallel criminality in the Black political challengers. The narrative's primary drive is a commentary on female empowerment, contrasting the competence and resourcefulness of the widows with the incompetence, abuse, and moral failure of nearly all the men they encounter. The film is technically excellent and character-driven, but it consistently frames its events through a socio-political lens that emphasizes systemic inequity and the intersectional challenges faced by its diverse female leads.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics9/10

The plot heavily relies on race and class to define the power dynamics and conflict. The primary antagonist is a white political dynasty family, the Mulligans, who are depicted as deeply corrupt and racist, representing entrenched white power. The rival political candidate is a Black crime boss, which complicates the racial narrative but still centers the election on race. One notable scene features the privileged white politician making a bigoted, frustrated rant as the camera focuses on the shifting racial and economic landscape outside his car window. The main group of protagonists is intentionally diverse to highlight intersectional challenges.

Oikophobia8/10

The setting of Chicago's political and social system is presented as fundamentally broken, corrupt, and oppressive. Established institutions—political, policing, and capitalist structures—are the source of societal inequity and the force that oppresses the working class and marginalized characters. The city itself is portrayed as a system that 'steals from the poor to give to the rich.' The wealthy, powerful, and ancestral systems (the Mulligan political family) are entirely corrupt and malicious.

Feminism9/10

The core premise is fiercely feminist, flipping the traditional heist genre by having the female characters take charge and succeed where their husbands failed. The men are consistently portrayed as either dead, abusive, criminal, or corrupt, serving as the source of the women's debt and oppression. The women unite across class and race lines to find their strength and financial independence outside of the 'patriarchy' that has controlled them. The idea of the 'Girl Boss' is strongly present, as the women are instantly more effective at the heist than their male predecessors.

LGBTQ+2/10

Alternative sexual identities are not a central theme of the plot or a significant focus of character identity. The main characters' struggles revolve around issues of debt, survival, race, and gender. The traditional male-female pairing is present but only in the context of abusive or failed marriages and partnerships.

Anti-Theism4/10

The film includes a charismatic Reverend who is tied to the criminal and political corruption subplot, suggesting that a figure of faith is merely another player in the corrupt system. However, the film is primarily focused on earthly moral relativism related to crime and politics, and it does not launch a direct, sustained attack on religion itself. One of the widows is shown lighting a candle and praying, suggesting a neutral or complex view of personal faith.