Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Prolific TV and music video director Melina Matsouka makes her feature debut with the impressive Queen & Slim, a film that transcends its lazy “Black Bonnie And Clyde” tag to become something quite unique and beautiful.  With it’s hip-hop, blues, Jazz soundtrack and gorgeous cinematography, this story of two young African Americans on the run for a crime they did , could have been a naive and irresponsible call to power or worse a retreading of similar themes we’ve seen many times before.  Instead focusing on leads Jodie Turner-Smith & Daniel Kaluuya’s blooming closeness as they are thrown together by circumstance and chance allows you to connect and care for the titular characters. Queen & Slim isn’t the paciest film you’ve seen and the trailer does it little justice in that respect but the film you get (rather than maybe the film you want) is far better on reflection.  One of the 2020’s best so far.  

Best Bit: The soundtrack

Cinema, Stream, Avoid: Cinema

If You Liked this Try: Bonnie And Clyde, True Romance, Thelma & Louise