The Bonny and Clyde we didn't need Queen and Slim

by Kathia Woods

Last year when it was announced that Lena Waithe would be penning a movie called Queen and Slim Black, Twitter was buzzing with excitement. A picture appeared showing Academy Nominee Daniel Kaluuya, and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith followed by the catchphrase “Melanin Poppin.” Rounding out this picture frame is Afro-Cuban director Melina Matsoukas (Beyoncé’s Formation Director). So naturally, the internet was abuzz with the release of this film. Waithe informed us this is from a Black Point of View while others are hailing it as the black Bonnie and Clyde.

The film is beautifully shot. The musical selections and the pacing of the film are excellent. One can easily see that Jodie Turner-Smith is a rising star, and Daniel Kaluuya once again makes us forget that he is British. As for the rest of the film, it’s not as complimentary.

The audience isn’t invested in these characters because their chemistry was lacking. Was it because they met on Tinder or because Queen was very judgmental towards Slim upon their meeting? First dates can be awkward; however, there was no small talk, no attempt to get to know Slim. It seemed that she came on this date because her two options were dinner with him or being alone. I immediately wanted Slim to pay the check and call her an Uber, but that would make this film for two minutes.

The movie makes another wrong turn when her actions cause them to be on the run. We are waiting for her to acknowledge that it was her need to assert power back into a situation where they had none that cause them to become fugitives. She did not once stop to think about how her antagonism caused their current predicament. She’s a strong woman, but in matters such as community vs. police is not the time to flex.

Slim wasn’t a lawyer, but he was a good guy. Her need for control caused his life to fall apart. In any other scenario, Slim would have been given the opportunity to express anger. Waithe, in her need to make the female character assertive, failed to humanize her. Part of being a strong woman is acknowledging one’s mistake. Perhaps this would have worked better if she made some attempt to protect him. Slim, on the other hand, remained patient while dealing with their unfortunate events and her nagging. Secretly I was hoping he’d leave her at a bus station.

We fast forward to Bokeem Woodbine as Uncle Earl. He was a vet that’s now a pimp. His abusive behavior towards his female entourage is not justifiable due to PTSD. Let’s remember that this film is supposed to be about black empowerment. It’s also disappointing to see the talented Indya Moore underused. I was looking forward to her playing someone different than Angel, but clearly, this was Angel in the country.

The biggest sin that Queen and Slim commit is that there is no chemistry between Kaluuya and Smith. I mean none. For all this talk about melanin and two beautiful people, minimal sex appeal was on that screen. By the time they began dancing at the nightclub, we were no longer invested. The lovemaking scene in the car didn’t make matters better. It’s also hard to focus on a lovemaking scene when it flashes back to a child, that’s just creepy.

I understand what the intent of this film was; however, the delivery was all over the place.

The incident was supposed to bring them together; instead, it had them running in the same place but different paces. I felt no affection for either character because there wasn’t any between them.

The ending is also predictable. I honestly was hoping that we may get a fairy-tale ending since we didn’t get a romance, but that too didn’t occur.

In the end, Queen and Slim was an experiment that went very wrong. It isn’t always enough to have black talent in front and behind the camera. One still needs to have fully developed dialogue and characters. We can’t just invest emotionally because the characters are black. We need a reason and being on the run isn’t enough. Many have compared this to Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde had something that Queen and Slim didn’t an undying bond. Queen and Slim are victims of circumstance, not star-crossed lovers, and maybe that’s what’s missing; perhaps these two people were never meant to be in love, hence this sad ending.

Scale: I give this movie a 6 due to the lack of chemistry.