Queen and Slim

Written by: Lena Waithe, Directed by: Melina Matsoukas

IMDb Rating: 7.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Tomatometer / 92% Audience Score

written by Lena

“Thank you for this journey, no matter how it ends.” - Queen

The year has only just started and I think this is my favorite movie of 2020. I have loved every bit of it, it’s provocative and infuriating, in the best way ever.

A story written by the one and only Lena Waithe and directed by “newcomer” Melina Matsoukas. Together, they tell a story of Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya), who go on an awkward first date and get pulled over by a racist cop on their drive home. Every scene goes under your skin, every bit of brilliant written dialogue and the music moves you.

During the very uncomfortable encounter with the cop, Slim finds himself held at gunpoint. During the hurdle Queen gets shot in the leg and Slim manages to grab the gun and shoots the Police Officer. Who had a dash cam in his car, which was recording the whole incident.

Queen, who is a lawyer, convinces Slim to flee. She knows, they would never have a chance at a fair trial for shooting a cop. They drive through the United States of America, being very cautious, a metaphor of what it means to be black in America, I think.

The video of them is being broadcasted all over the Internet, they are being called criminals who are highly dangerous. But it’s also creating a movement in the black community, causing people to stand up against systematic racism and taking it to the streets.

I don’t want to spoil any major events from this film, because I really recommend anyone to see this powerful piece of art. It deals with real issues, that we are facing today. This film shows just how the world sees you and how you can’t do anything about it.

Yes, it’s a story written for the screen, but it draws inspiration from so many real-life events like Philando Castile. Unfortunately there are countless examples of black citizens being shot by cops and it feels like nobody in charge is dealing with them. Taking issues like these to the movies and be a very powerful thing, it starts conversations and it makes people face the reality.