“The yakuza are adept at staging a murder to look like a suicide. In a country, where autopsies are rarely performed, they get away with it too often,” says Jake Adelstein, the book’s author and an executive producer on the series.

The made-up suicide scene reminds some viewers of when Det. Stanley Switek found his partner, Det. Larry Zito in the same condition in the series ‘Miami Vice’ (1984-1989), a product that ‘Tokyo Vice’ shares more than a similar name but also the same executive producer, Michael Mann. It is still different from the new wave soundtracked tropical city painted with pastels, the sombre scene is shown in stern colours, and the cops wear worn-out cheap clothes.

Themes

It is the way ‘Tokyo Vice’ differentiates itself from its older American brother, from its premiere season, and from other cop dramas from TV and movies as a whole standing as one of the best crime dramas produced while meticulously peculiarly approaching themes of the genre.

“Death” is a present theme in ‘Tokyo Vice’ as it has a nihilistic darkness cracking through the walls that compose the characters’ lives. The demise of a cop serves as a harrowing signal to present that even those who are there to protect the citizens and are used to dangerous situations won’t be spared; therefore, the innocent can be harmed too, and those perpetuating violence are seen as a formidable threat to societal coexistence.

“Time” is also essential, as journalists and law enforcement agents are moving against it to prevent more drama from hitting the streets and contaminating the lives of those they care about, Tokyo and Japanese societies. It is a theme usually exploited by Mann, and in ‘Tokyo Vice,’ it is represented by luxury watches, particularly the very exclusive Vacheron Constantin that, with its elite status, seems to give a (false) feeling of breaking the inevitability of fortuná to their wearers.

“Silence” is another aspect that helps further the narrative of ‘Tokyo Vice.’ The way some communicate with spaced speeches, long staring with desperate or sorrowful eyes contrast with the American way of Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) but also brings a looming danger that is more hurtful than when the violence flows in a spray of bullets, a vicious stabbing or a pile-on beating as those affairs are solved in matters of seconds. Those moments with apprehensive faces mark how the work life of those in the night can be stressful and lead to mental health trauma that can manifest itself as life-threatening sicknesses.

Impact

‘Tokyo Vice’ is a foreign production that enjoyed more open shooting doors than any predecessor. It shows the city’s richness and will probably affect the tourist industry, even if it deals with such delicate and disturbing subjects. Nevertheless, there are scenes of love, not only carnal but also fraternal, that humanize these characters and the city itself, while the cinematography shows how unique its landscape is.

Although Adelstein is front and centre in the promo material, the series is an effort of an ensemble cast from which Ken Watanabe, with his weary and dutiful law agent, should be a contender in the awards season. Ayumi Tanida’s Tozawa is one of the most dreadful villains in recent TV, in pair with Jon Bernthal’s Wayne Jenkins from ‘We Own This City’ (2022). Meanwhile, the viewer can see Ansel Elgort growing as an actor before their eyes and see that the stylish Shô Kasamatsu added more layers to his youngster yakuza, showing traces of a true leading man. Second-season addition Yôsuke Kubozuka portrays a crazy-eyed secondary villain who is pretty very different from the young brother he portrayed in Netflix’s ‘Giri/Haji’ (2019).

The female cast, composed of Rachel Keller, Ayumi Ito, Miki Maya, Hyunri, and Makiko Watanabe, gave good performances and had enough time to stand out, showing us more about the lives of Japanese women who are associated with the yakuza or fight against it.
Film director and cinema historian, Paul Schrader, who knows a great deal about Japan, has lauded the dialogues. It proves the strength of a strong writers’ room, a class that has been battered, as seen during the strike last year.

Showrunner J.T. Rogers gave ‘Tokyo Vice’ season two a rare, satisfying final chapter that closes the story but opens for new branches. If greenlighted for a third season, it can go one more round, showing a new vision of Tokyo’s dark underbelly and those who venture into it.

Also Read: Tokyo Vice: Unmasking Japan’s Underworld with HBO’s Groundbreaking Crime Drama

The post ‘Tokyo Vice’ Ups Its Game For Season 2 and Confirms That It Is One of the Best Crime Dramas of Its Era appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The plot follows Dot, a very pleasant homemaker living in Minnesota but after a fracas at a school board meeting where she genuinely accidentally assaults a cop she is arrested. While she is soon out on bail Dot is very antsy about being arrested. Days later she is kidnapped, or at least attempted to be. It turns out, that Dot has not always been Dot but used to be Nadine, married to Roy Tillman, a sheriff in a nearby county and an absolute maniac. Roy is corrupt, violent and puffed up with religious zealotry. Nadine escaped this terrible man and became Dot, meeting a very gentle and kind man, marrying him and having a child, Scotty. Alongside these central characters, we have Dot’s husband Wayne Lyon, her mother-in-law Lorraine Lyon who is CEO of the largest debt collection agency in the country, Deputy Indira Olmstead and State Trooper Witt Farr, as well as Roy’s son Gator. Finally, there is the sinister, mysterious, murderous Ole Munch.

On The Screen

The show revolves around two central performances; Juno Temple as Nadine/Dot and Jon Hamm as Roy Tillman. Temple manages to capture both the gentle manner and basic decency of the Minnesota mom and the unstoppable force of someone who has survived a harrowing ordeal and won’t go back. Likewise Hamm has two existences as Roy Tillman – the public persona of no-nonsense tough but fair sheriff, with his aww shucks charm, and a brutal and corrupt man justifying his actions with self-serving Bible verses.

Another standout performance is Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lorraine Lyon (I have been trying to perfect her contemptuous drawl for weeks), Nadine/Dot’s mother-in-law billionaire.

The Characters

Dot/Nadine

Dot very early on is described by someone as a tiger and this is an apt description. She fights fiercely at every opportunity – in the course of the show, she sets people on fire, hits them with hammers, chokes them with chains, electrocutes them and more. She is also an extremely caring and loving mother, wife and person. The amount of time we see Dot baking and cooking in this season almost makes it a cooking show.

Roy Tillman

Domestic abuse, up to and including murder, is very present this season, Tillman is violent to all three of his wives that we see (and others). Nadine ran from Tillman because of this violence. He feels entirely justified in this, quoting all manner of verses from the Bible to support the horror he puts women through. The casting of Jon Hamm is an interesting one, he is the sheriff, a public and political figure, he can put his face on a campaign billboard and look impressive. Roy Tillman is the latest in a long line of terrifying Fargo villains and Tillman might be the scariest since season one’s Lorne Malvo. He dishes out Old Testament punishment to those he feels have done wrong – rarely involving a trial – is as staggeringly corrupt as to be selling police weapons and equipment to far-right militias, and does whatever he wants. He has a large group of henchmen made up of deputies and thugs who will murder, threaten and kidnap for him. So sure of his own power when the FBI arrive to tell him they know of all of his crimes he barely registers it.

The Rest

As with every season of Fargo, it has its share of odd, puzzling characters. Danish Graves, Lorraine’s besuited lawyer whose eyepatch always matches his outfit, Roy’s son. Gator, who is utterly incompetently childish and so far out of his depth he will soon be surfacing on the other side of the world. And then there is Indira’s husband, now for someone who isn’t violent or a terrible criminal he has to be one of the most unlikeable characters of all time. While Indira is out working as a cop and desperately manages their crushing debt, he is intent on becoming a golf pro, spending thousands on equipment and not looking for work. Ole Munch, it’s hard to know what to say about him, like the UFOs in Fargo season 2 or the Heaven bowling alley in season 3 he might be something in a more supernatural bent. Ole Munch looks bizarre and talks in a ludicrous manner of quasi-philosophical rhetoric, answering every reasonable question with things like “when a man digs a grave, he must fill it, otherwise it is just a hole”. He is a creepy murdering criminal but is a very different way to Roy and his cronies.

The Show

The show spirals in and out of Dot’s safety, her past and present, and those around her given choices about what they will do. Will the police deputy and state trooper look the other way for an easy life? Will Lorraine Lyon back her daughter-in-law or destroy her? Perhaps the key concept in the show is debt – Roy feels Dot/Nadine has a debt to him, one that he cannot forget, Lorraine is literally a billionaire manager of debt, her lawyer Danish Graves has a ledger of debts to call in to get things done and she calls in all manner of political favours. Indira is drowning in debt while her useless husband complains about how she is not fulfilling her obligations to him as a wife. And then there is Ole Munch – a personification of debt, something he took on and will insist all debts are paid.

Season 5 is one of the best seasons of the show and just an all around fantastic tv show.

Rating: (4.5 / 5)

Also Read: True Crimes, Real Lives: Exploring the Ethics of the Sub-Genre

The post Review: Fargo Season 5 appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

In Netflix’s drama Griselda (2023), Sofía Vergara found the role of a lifetime in which she can present how capable she is by playing Colombia drug lord Griselda Blanco, who ruled the underworld of 1980s Miami. This place and time were the epitome of the drug business that saw a city engulfed by corruption and tragedy. It was featured in the classic Time Magazine’ ‘Paradise Lost’ cover that makes a cameo in the series.

1980s Miami played a significant role in current pop culture and the drug market, and the players from those years became known as Cocaine Cowboys. They would inspire seminal fictional representations in the film Scarface (1983) and the series’ ‘Miami Vice’ (1984-1989), products that still influence film, TV, music, gaming, architecture, fashion, and sports. However, the character presented in ‘Griselda’ is larger-than-life, making fictional Miami gangsters look tamed even considering the craziness found in late 20th Century South Florida.

Although the story of Latino drug traffickers has been presented in many media to the point of fatigue, Griselda gives more insight into a rare player, a woman who rose to the ranks in this trade. For instance, it was her inventive mind that created the ‘drive-by’ shooting when the assailant in a car or a bike goes by spraying bullets on their targets, and the real Griselda was way more villainous than her on-screen counterpart.
In an interview with NBC News, Vergara approaches what brought her to a role that long she sought to play:

“I want the audience to take away how easy it is for power to corrupt people — beyond sex, politics, gender norms. The reality is that this story is about someone who was so blinded by power that it overcame any other motives that ever existed. She stood up to a lot of scary and powerful men. But none of that matters, because she ended up becoming one of them.”

-Sofía Vergara, NBC Interview

Griselda is produced by Eric Newman, one of the responsible for Netflix’s Narcos and Narcos: Mexico series, but this round, Newman wanted to set Blanco aside from the previous products and narratives as her story has been told mainly by men that were her rivals, associates or members of law enforcement trying to arrest her. In an interview with Digital Spy, Newman pointed out that the story of Blanco is an anomaly in an already colourful and violent world as there has never been a woman to achieve her dominance and power in any drug cartel. A profile that made Newman set Blanco’s story outside the ‘Narcos’ franchise. “We found with Narcos, the way we tell that story, what that show is about, to try to fit the Griselda story into Narcos just seems like it wouldn’t do it justice.”

Blanco is a complex character; at the same time, she is ruthless to her enemies in attempts to assert her position in a male-dominated area where she always feels under threat; still, she is also known as the caring “La Madriña” (The Godmother) and is surrounded by very loyal subordinates, many of whom were Cubans that came from the Mariel boat which Fidel Castro used to send the undesirable ones from his left-wing dictatorship into the USA. They became known as the “Marielitos.”

Vergara’s Griselda is up there with Wagner Moura’s Pablo Escobar and Diego Luna’s Felix Gallardo from the ‘Narcos’ series. Vergara makes the narrative a character study by expressing hubris, despair, love, caring, scorn, and a whole spectrum of feelings.
Griselda is also a document of the Cocaine Cowboys era and helps understand the craziness that ran afoul in those years and the role they play in today’s drug game. It also is a reminder of where Colombia and Miami were during the late 70s through the 80s. Although the series could have benefitted had it a bigger budget, as it would have allowed more cinematographically shots that would make the experience even more immersive and bring Miami as another character, as happens with the Miami seen in the series and in the 2006 film version of Miami Vice directed by Michael Mann, both very different from each other.

Griselda’s make-up team did outstanding work with the prosthetics as it looks convincing, and only Vergara’s feline eyes are recognizable, which helps the viewer forget the Vergara from Modern Family, thus bringing more gravitas to the role which is furthered by the actress’ elite level acting skills. With this entry, Vergara will be in talks for acting TV awards.

Griselda also makes the case for having diversity not only in front of the screen but also behind when producing art. Vergara’s ambition to play such a problematic character and her input alongside other Latinos make this character-driven show a multi-layered representation. The series does not glamourize “the life,” as many call the drug trafficking lifestyle, but it humanizes it in a way that few films and shows have done with women who engage in condemnable acts.

Also Read: True Crimes, Real Lives: Exploring the Ethics of the Sub-Genre

The post Sofía Vergara Transforms into the Infamous Griselda Blanco in Netflix’s Latest Drama appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Those scenes are taken from the first season of HBO’s Max ‘Tokyo Vice’ released in 2022 and gearing up for its second season, a product based in the homonymous book published in 2007 by American reporter Jake Adelstein who brought to the Western society the underbelly of Japanese organized crime and its gangs known as the yakuza. The series protagonist is a version of Adelstein played by American heartthrob Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) who shows depth in his portrayal, the narrative also features Academy-nominated Japanese luminaries Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) and Ken Watanabe (Last Samurai), who play Jake’s editor at the main Japanese newspaper and the policeman, respectively. The series is rounded by other international talent and the locals show what they can do with a material that goes far from the stereotyped images that are seen in mainstream media.

‘Tokyo Vice’ is executive produced by Michael Mann, the director of ‘Heat’ who held the same position in the quintessential 80’s show ‘Miami Vice,’ from which Adelstein confessed to me to be a great fan and borrowed the name for his story. Like the Floridian ‘Vice,’ the Japanese counterpart presents its players with flair, surrounded in a lavish environment inhabited by good-looking people, but all infused with darkness that corrodes its players from the inside straying away from the critics who might say that both shows glamourize the criminal lifestyle.

In ‘Tokyo Vice,’ the most gripping scenes are those where everything seems to be calm, as the air is filled with the possibility of violence that ends with lives abruptly in a nihilistic manner much like in the real world of those nightcrawlers. The show follows another Mann speciality by portraying how work life can harm personal lives and leave everlasting damages, an aftermath lived by Adelstein who lost many cherished ones and while carrying physical and psychological traumas that the series helps to understand due to character evolution.

In the case of the journalists, it shows how this profession can be not only demanding but humiliating and also portrays Japanese corporate culture without holding back, Adelstein suffers from being a “gaijin” (foreigner) in a homogenous place, still Kikuchi’s Emi represents what women journalists still endure in the press and in Japanese society as a whole.

Cops, thugs and night workers aren’t spared either as these people are stuck in a game of power while also playing against themselves for the little space available in what outsiders mistake for glamour and excitement. The clothing department shines in particular when the salary people are put close to the members of the yakuza or from other spheres of power, although Adelstein tries to come as elegant and debonair as possible, the fabric and colours of his suits denounce his place in the gaming board.

As expected in a Michael Mann production, it feels more like a movie than television due to cinematography, editing and soundtrack, even when we look at the current prestige TV. Its noir cinema influence pours on how Adelstein has a moral core, but he is not restrained by it like a self-righteous journalist, his unorthodox methods play a role in his competent journalistic skills which helps to understand why the real-life Adelstein is one of the best storytellers of his generation.

Adelstein swims in a pool of greyness as he doesn’t shy away from sleeping with hostesses, prostitutes, and other women. Still, he is not also revered by this behaviour as if he is an alpha male character, it fits the narrative by showing his humanity, and his womanizing ways are not complimented nor condemned, and they help to understand the character and the plot.

In its way, ‘Tokyo Vice’ shows a deeper Japan that is not tied to anime or kaiju nor restricted to high-art cinema circuits, actors like Watanabe and Kikuchi are already recognized although they show some shades not very much seen in their forays in American mainstream products, but ‘Tokyo Vice’ also brings talents like Hideaki Itō (Umizaru) playing a conflicted cop who wants to be seen as a flamboyant superstar or the novice gangster Sato who under the acting of Shô Kasamatsu goes through a large character development and can be perceived as its second protagonist and a counterpart, not an antagonist, to Elgort’s Adelstein.

By having veteran yakuza movies actor Shun Sugata (Ichi the Killer), it pays homage to a very popular Japanese genre, as Sugata plays a supposedly honourable mob boss pointing toward a past that, like him, is not as romantic as meets the eyes. A ranged acting that demands the viewer’s attention.

Vice is also a document of an era, the 90’s and early 2000’s Japanese country in a country that was starting to leave the notion that it was becoming an economic powerhouse due to the 80’s economic boom, but haven’t yet dealt with terrorist attacks and the ageing of its population while trying to deny that its youth was coping with more than they can handle and unassisted.

Sadly, the real Adelstein has not only to deal with the toll of his journey and life-threatening events but also to mediatic hit jobs that coincidently came around during awards season which might have taken a bit of the series’ steam, where members of the technical team and the talents of Watanabe, Itō and Kikuchi shouldn’t have been overlook in said ceremonies.

In ‘Tokyo Vice,’ the supporting players have full-fledged lives, and their suffering and joy aren’t just stepping stones to show how Adelstein is good thus making the accusations of playing to the “white saviour” trope being unfounded, the American reporter is a point-of-view character and not a demigod that came to put an end to the yakuza and the corruption in Japan.

‘Tokyo Vice’ is flashy like the city’s brimming 90s and early 2000s nightlife which makes those moments of discretion in the characters’ homes hit even harder and sets it aside from contemporary American series that aim to portray law enforcement and other classes as unwavering heroes of American exceptionalism. ‘Tokyo Vice’ deserves a meticulous look as it is one of the best crime dramas of today.

Also Read: How Anime Went International

The post Tokyo Vice: Unmasking Japan’s Underworld with HBO’s Groundbreaking Crime Drama appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The gritty crime epic that garnered four Academy Awards nominations, is based on real life figures from the outskirts of once paradisiacal Rio de Janeiro and catapulted a cast composed of mostly community residents and Afro-Brazilian descendants into international acclaim. Some names like Alice Braga and Seu Jorge have international careers but the most impressive actors in the film are Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino (Li’l Zé) and Douglas Silva (Li’l Dice).

Now the 39 years-old Rodrigues is a respected actor having done it all, movies, telenovelas, series and stage plays, still as happens with many actors, in particular those of his background, in a country that doesn’t value culture his work is more lauded outside than inside the nation, City of God is considered one of the best 100 movies of this century while here he still faces the hardships of his craft.

In an interview with Big Picture Film Club, Rodrigues reminisces of his times as Rocket, realizing how much acclaimed the picture is, the hardships of being an actor in Brazil, the demands for diversity in the industry, the want of having his own international career and the directors he admires.

Gabriel Leão: What does City of God mean to the cinema world, To Brazilian cinema history and to your own career?

Alexandre Rodrigues: I believe that City of God was a window for the world to know that Brazil also makes prestige cinema, while for our country it was a watershed moment because we also understood that we can show quality, and I have to say that for my career it was also a great and important opportunity – a milestone.

GL: It is regarded as one of the most influential pictures of this century. How do you see this influence playing out in the current film landscape?

AR: The film had several techniques employed that were innovative for its era and, in a way, its context is timeless as it speaks to all types of audiences and in every known language ​​on the planet. I think it’s due to the storytelling and how it develops throughout the film, which is really incredible, but what I really believe to be its “magic touch” is the homogeneous and natural performance of the actors.

And quite contrary to what many people say, we are real actors. For example: “City of God was made by non-actors and so on”… In fact, all the cast was composed of committed professionals with up to ten years of theater experience like me! This speech comes with the following line: “Fernando Meirelles did not want familiar faces in his film, so he went looking for people who had little or no experience in the screens,” this is the case of Leandro Firmino (Zé Pequeno, Li’l Zé), still this was a rare example because all the others already had a long theatrical career, most of the cast hails from the group “Nois do Morro” (Us from the Hills, in free translation), A large NGO in Brazil that was acknowledged after City of God.

GL: When did you notice that your life had changed due to the movie?

AR: I’m not sure when I realized it, but it took me a while, like many others, to understand the relevance that the film took on. Even today, after more than twenty years, the film gains some new importance, the last one was that it is one of the most watched films (outside Hollywood) on the planet only behind a few others (Preply lists it as the second most popular foreign film after France’s ‘Untouchables’). I think there will still be good things out there (to be found about the movie), you never know!

GL: What are the hardships faced by actors coming from similar backgrounds of yours in Brazil?

AR: I can say that as a professional it’s not easy for anyone, because I’ve seen so many actors with so much talent being jobless to the point that I can’t even say that it’s just a question of my profile or skin colour, it is it and then some. I have an example right here at home, my wife has the profile that the film industry has used the most since its dawn because she has fair skin And European traits, and while she has been in the profession for more than twenty years, sadly she has landed few jobs.

GL: Abroad there are many movements questioning diversity in movies, and we see more diverse faces on the screen. Do you see something similar in our country?

AR: In the last 10 years I have seen diversity grow on screens, I feel more represented today, here in Brazil as the environment has been undergoing a revolution that follows the rest of the world, I think that City of God was very important in that sense too, because it was the first time that community residents saw themselves represented and in a beautiful display on the silver screen since then I’ve seen many acting groups and NGOs flourishing through the communities.  

GL: In our last interview, you told me that you were studying English and also about your dream of making it outside Brazil. How would you like that to play out?

AR: I’m doing my part by surrounding myself with experience and contact with the English language which I love so much. By the way, I’ve been making contacts with people who live in London, but I still long for my shot. I’m glad to be Brazilian and work in my own country but I do want to experience new challenges in my career.

GL: Who are the foreign actors and directors that you follow?

AR: I have some… (breaths). Michel Gondry (L’écume Des Jours) and Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), both of who I wish to work with someday! And off course Fernando Meirelles!

Also Read: True Crimes, Real Lives: Exploring the Ethics of the Sub-Genre

The post Interview: City of God’s Alexandre Rodrigues Discusses The Film’s Impact 20 Years Later appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Today, we will analyse the common elements of murder mystery films, how the genre has changed over time, how the detective archetype has contributed to the genre’s popularity, and provide you with some great mystery films to watch.

Making A Murder Mystery

Generally, a murder mystery focuses on the investigation of a murder/series of murders, committed during the opening act. A detective (professional/private/amateur), or someone else, will try to solve the case. Throughout the story evidence about the killer’s motives and identity is compiled through crime scene examinations and hearing testimony from the supporting cast, (with several red-herrings trying to fool the audience). The film will end with the killer’s/killers’ identity being revealed. Chiefly the genre invites audiences to guess the murderer’s identity, using the evidence before the reveal.

The Little Things

Despite the genre’s common narrative elements still being prominent, not everything remains the same. The murder mystery formula has been used to tell many different stories in different styles since its inception. From period adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie’s work to seedy film noirs, fluffy comedic capers, spectacular action thrillers, disgusting horror thrillers, giallos, and more. It’s a genre that has proven it can be used to tell any story. 

And the genre has continually updated itself. Not just by using increasingly modern crime-solving techniques and technology in their stories, but also by changing its attitudes and content. For example, after the release of Psycho, based on Ed Gein’s crimes, the genre began to further explore the killer’s mindset and the impact of their crimes. This, coupled with censorship relaxation, led to a greater emphasis on violence, sex, and psychological analysis. Making the genre feel more true to life. The genre has equally been willing to critique and break its own rules. Sometimes films will have the killer not be caught or identified and even the detectives have been shown as villainous or corrupt, again making the genre feel more real.

This infinite malleability with such a simple formula allows creatives a huge canvas to play with. And it gives audiences something comfortably familiar but never wholly the same. It’s easy to understand why the genre has stuck around. 

Poirot to Blanc

Interestingly the new wave of cinematic whodunit’s use of the detective exemplifies the genre’s comforting familiarity while also being modern in its implementation.

Investigators like Hercule Poirot (Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022)), Benoit Blanc (Knives Out), and Inspector Stoppard (See How They Run) feel like classic gentlemen sleuths and hard-boiled detectives. They have their familiar attitudes, as well as the star power expected from the genre. Kenneth Branagh, Daniel Craig, and Sam Rockwell play each character respectively. And they serve as our good-humoured guides through the investigation. Allowing us to not become overwhelmed by the murder’s morbidity.

But these figures also offer a lot to modern audiences. Poirot and Blanc offer an authoritative figure not tied in with the bad practices of the police. Which has received understandable derision lately. They are also a lot more sympathetic when listening to the perspectives of suspects. For example, Blanc ultimately helps Marta to prove her innocence. Both offer relief from concerns about policing. And while Stoppard is a police detective his surly nature shows that this life is not a happy one. Thus some can argue acting as a critique of the detective role.

Ultimately the use of familiar genre staples for whodunit detectives allows audiences to easily become invested with the mystery. But they can also serve as a great springboard to tackle many different questions about our relationship with the law. Thus giving audiences more to engage with.

And Then There Were Many

To conclude our look into the murder mystery genre here are some great examples for you to watch:

Historical: The Hound of The Baskervilles (1939)

Contemporary: Knives Out

Noir: The Third Man

Neo-Noir: Memento

Giallo: Don’t Torture A Duckling

True Crime: Zodiac

Also Read: Seven Creative Movies Dealing With Memory Loss

The post The Evolution of the Murder Mystery appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

What’s Going On?

I have always thought of Steve McQueen as an ambitious and confident director and not just because of his films, this a man who shares the name of a Hollywood legend and was not worried about permanently being called The Other Steve McQueen. McQueen’s latest film starts with the viewer being introduced to each member of a crew who is about to undertake a daring robbery lead by Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson). The brief glimpse into each of their family lives before the heist shows a not entirely sympathetic group of people. Things do not go to plan and Rawlings and the entire team are killed by the police. That is still just the beginning as the film is not really about Rawlings and his crew but the people they leave behind.

Viola Davis star’s as Veronica, Rawlings’ widow, who while still reeling from the death of her husband is visited by the criminals who were robbed and even though the money was destroyed they expect Veronica to pay it back.  The one thing of real value Rawlings left Veronica was his notebook on all his planned heists and with that Veronica plans to steal the money she needs, bringing in the other widows from the gang.

There is an ongoing B plot of an upcoming election for alderman between Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) and Jamal Manning (Bryan Tyree Henry), Mulligan being the son of the previous alderman and part of a political dynasty that has controlled the politics of the area for generations and Manning the very criminal who threatens Veronica. But while Manning may be the more obvious criminal it becomes very clear that Mulligan and his family are far from innocent.

Behind The Scenes

Steve McQueen is known for serious weighty dramas, 12 Years A Slave winning the Best Picture Oscar in 2014, and so Widows does feel like quite a departure. When watching the trailer my first thought was “I just have to see a Steve McQueen heist film” just to see what he would come up with. Widows is based on a Linda La Plate British TV show from the 1980s and while I hadn’t heard of it does seem to be well-regarded. Gillian Flynn, of Gone Girl fame, wrote the screenplay and the pair of McQueen and Flynn sets expectations high.

In Front Of The Camera

The cast McQueen has put together is amazing, casting great actors like Jacki Weaver, Liam Neeson and Robert Duvall in relatively small roles. The key trio of Veronica, Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) as the eponymous Widows hold the film together well with each of them adding immensely to the story, each with their own struggles and reasons for getting involved. Viola Davis is very convincing as a woman who had nothing to do with her husband’s criminal enterprises but rather than giving up or running wants to take back control of her life. Elizabeth Debicki stands out for the transformation her character goes on finding previously untapped reserves of strength. Michelle Rodriguez plays a little against type, being the most hesitant but also with the most to lose. Importantly, none of the women are ignorant of their husbands’ careers, even if not active participants.

Does It Work?

The film is very enjoyable with great performances all round and the two plots dovetail neatly in the conclusion. The film is suffused with the grim reality for all those within it and even Mulligan’s much more prosperous family are shown to be very much entangled in dark goings-on. Each of the three widows convincingly portrays women who are in dire straits and are willing to risk prison or even death to give themselves a chance.

McQueen is a brilliant director and easily handles the large cast and the quick plot developments easily. There are moments of real tension, particularly around Daniel Kaluuya who plays Manning’s brutal but keen on self-improvement enforcer. For a film that starts with the fiery death of four characters, there isn’t a great deal of violence in the film with just a few brutal and short scenes containing most of it. McQueen also gets as much tension out of the corrupt political machinations as the gunfights.

It is debatable if there are any “good guys” in this film. Even though you are rooting for Veronica and her team they are not entirely innocent and when faced with difficult times are happy enough planning an armed robbery and I think this is an intentional choice by McQueen. The political struggle of two different types of criminal – the gang leader Manning and the white collar corruption of Mulligan – supports the idea that everyone is involved in crime, to some degree, importantly the widows’ solution to their problem is more crime.

There is a running theme that it’s very hard to find people to trust. Family, what is normally the strongest of bonds between people, is shown to be unreliable and being close to someone brings trouble. Alice’s mother, played by Jacki Weaver, is shown to be far from the nurturing and supportive figure a mother usually is. Much of the same is also true of romantic relationships and there is a feeling that the best way to get through life is to rely on no one but yourself.

The film is an engaging drama with good performances from all the cast and I thoroughly enjoyed it, however, I am not sure how long it will linger in my mind and if it’s a film that I would want to come back to. Certainly, it is more entertaining and well made than similar films but considering the calibre of the people involved I was hoping for something better, something that would be a real classic.

Verdict: (4 / 5)

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