The success of “Queen & Slim” is in large part because of director Melina Matsoukas, who is best known for having directed Beyoncé’s “Formation” music video. This film looks beautiful. This film sounds beautiful, with a soundtrack that helps bring the story of Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) and Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) into an emotional space that connects like a thunderbolt.
The story begins on an awkward date inside a Black-owned old-time diner between Slim, who works at Costco and Queen, who is a lawyer and having a very bad day in court. Where Slim’s job isn’t life-or-death it’s the opposite for Queen, who defended a client who received the death penalty. The first date for her was simply an attempt to feel better. Her job is hard and she, like millions, suffers from the injustice of the criminal justice system. Fighting a corrupt system takes its toll.
There isn’t instant chemistry and the small talk is painful to watch. The couple doesn’t seem headed for a second date. Then on their drive home, things take a turn. Slim, behind the wheel, is pulled over by a police car after the cop observes the car swerving (just once). The cop is white and defensive from the start.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know this isn’t going to turn out well. Queen can easily recognize the danger and she keeps it cool, obeying the officer’s orders but she does know her rights and isn’t shy about asserting them, but then she does something odd—she reaches for her phone and then the situation spirals out of control. The cop is agitated and starts to wave his gun, releasing a shot in her direction, and Slim knocks him to the ground, grabs his weapon, and pulls the trigger.
And now what? In our world where police shoot first and ask questions later during routine traffic stops when the driver is Black or Brown and gets away with it, the incidents of what happens with Queen and Slim are believable.
The screenplay is written by Emmy-award winner Lena Waithe (“The Chi”) in which she shares a story credit with novelist James Frey. She keeps the snappy banter between Queen and Slim moving as their doomed romance grows. Director Matsoukas brings the story down to a slow boil as the couple tries to get away as their actions are playing out on social media. Here the story turns, trying to build the characters into vigilantes, heroes, or martyrs willing to stand up against the years of injustice that Black and Brown people suffered and still suffer at the hands of police and the criminal justice system.
After stealing a pickup truck, Queen guides them to her uncle Earl (Bokeem Woodbine), an Iraq War vet now pimp whose harem of sexy women assist in making over the couple on the run. Hiding in plain sight, Queen and Slim leave his house driving a turquoise Pontiac with a new look: Slim in a burgundy tracksuit and Queen wearing a leopard-print miniskirt. Their hip attire is photographed at one of the stops along the way, where an activist kid (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) is inspired by their example and attacks an officer.
It’s a lot to unpack but that’s exactly what the filmmakers wanted in telling this story. “Queen and Slim” has a soundtrack filled with songs that echo the spirit of defiance. The music and the movie taps a nerve that makes you twitch. After the shooting, the couple’s faces are splashed on social media, TV screens and in print. So many people are divided, with many viewing them as heroes. It’s discovered that the same cop killed someone two years earlier and got away with it. Along their journey, they meet a variety of people who demonstrate empathy including a white couple (played by Chloë Sevigny and Flea) who seem to truly understand.
Under director Matsoukas’ careful eye the film has a signature look that helps to soften the hard-cold facts that the couple is on the run for their lives. Her DP is Tat Radcliffe (“White Boy Rick”). Music plays a key role in “Queen & Slim” with a hip-hop soundtrack including a new single from Lauryn Hill (“Comin’ Home”) and a score by Dev Hynes.
“Queen & Slim” is an arresting film that will leave a mark on the viewer’s psyche.
“Queen & Slim” directed by Melina Matsoukas. Screenplay by Lena Waithe; story: Waithe, James Frey. Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, John Sturgill Simpson, Indya Moore, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Thom Gossom Jr.