linda armstrong

I had great expectations for this movie, because the novel is excellent. It’s an important story that sheds light on the brutality young black men faced in those government sanctioned facilities. Alas, I found the movie almost incomprehensible. The jerking camera, the weird “artistic” cinematography and the disembodied voices served to annoy me. I didn’t finish the movie. I gave it 2 stars just because the subject matter is important.

It was, well, OK. It should have been better. It has all the elements of a great heist film but it never coalesces into a thriller. It has an impressive amount of acting talent. Viola Davis usually rules the screen, and turns in a fine performance here, given the material she was handed. Alice Debicki shines as a woman who is venturing a toehold on her own value. The four women of the heist are solid, but never really flashy, which might be what this film needed. The men of the film don’t have much to do other than act menacing or corrupt or both. (Bobby Duvall gives such a bizarre performance as a corrupt Chicago patriarch that I was sad for him.) I’d say Steve McQueen missed some element that could have elevated this film into Heist Film greatness. I don’t know exactly what, but it’s missing something. I still recommend it, but I wouldn’t watch it twice.