**There are spoilers in this review**
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Ok, good. I finally saw Q&S last night. I didn’t write anything then because I 1) wanted to process, and 2) by process I mean I was exhausted from being out and went straight to bed.
I really enjoyed this movie. I’d read so many bad reviews, I half went in expecting not to like it; it takes a lot for a movie to overcome your predetermined dislike of it. Q&S did just that.
It’s shot beautifully over a few states. I initially thought the Ohio scenes were in Chicago. There was a discrepancy in the direction they were traveling at one point, but the beauty outshone my C level geography knowledge.
Many themes stood out as so realistic: the bad first date, the community (in several forms) supporting alleged retribution to the oppressor, Slim’s dedication to his family. But what stood out most were the purposeful messages left by the screenwriter. All the scenes in Uncle Earl’s house (masterfully played by Bokeem Woodbine) were Sunday school lessons: the after effects of war, treating a man differently at home because of the way he’s treated in the world, the humanization of sex workers. All well acted and scripted. Other themes such as the longing to be immortal, regret and sadness being worn as anger, were present too.
My friend Shawn whispered at one point that he knew many “Queens” (that is not how he said it, and I can’t type my gut laughter reaction). I think the entire point of the movie was to see ourselves or maybe someone we knew, and unravel the pain beneath the snark (whew, Queen had snark for daaays) and the beauty beneath the ordinary.
There were many criticisms about the ending. I thought it was drawn out a little long, but I did see it coming: once a bounty was offered, the ending wrote itself.
Overall I enjoyed it and thought it a worthwhile film. I’m sure there will be many more Twitter debates, and I’m thinking of hosting a table talk about it myself. Go see it and support this artistic, contemporary film. Let me know your thoughts.
Vonn
coffeeinmyleft.blog 