A-list direction propels 'Widows,' 'Buster Scruggs'

Director Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) brings artistry and an epic scope to “Widows,” a drama that balances a sprawling plot and a large cast of distinct, richly-defined characters.

Viola Davis stands at its center as Veronica, a woman thrown into criminal desperation after her husband Harry (Liam Neeson) and his crew are killed in a botched Chicago-area heist. With the money lost, the target of the job (a crime boss played by “Atlanta’s” Brian Tyree Henry) demands that Veronica comes up with the cash. So she recruits the other widows of her husband’s crew, played by Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki, to execute Harry’s next planned job.

That only scratches the surface of the movie’s story mechanizations — Colin Farrell has a key role as a corrupt politician, Robert Duvall plays his meddling father, Cynthia Erivo (the standout of this year’s “Bad Times at the El Royale”) appears as a neighborhood babysitter, and “Get Out’s” Daniel Kaluuya terrifies as the heavy putting the pressure on Veronica and her makeshift crew.

Those expecting a punchy string of twists and antics are better served watching an “Ocean’s” movie, as the central heist in “Widows” serves as a backdrop to a more nuanced character study about trauma, corruption and racial and gender power struggles. McQueen, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside “Gone Girl” scribe Gillian Flynn, makes provocative use of the camera to create a more thoughtful and striking visual palette compared to the typical slam-bang cops-and-robbers fare (for one, the police are notably absent minus a couple of key scenes).

Few actors are as mesmerizing as Viola Davis, and her performance as Veronica serves as the film’s emotional center, particularly in how she plays scenes of grief against flashback scenes with Neeson. She’s tough and vulnerable in equal measure, and she elevates every scene partner (including her character’s dog, which appears quite often). Rodriguez and Debicki have strong arcs too, and Henry and Kaluuya bring intensity and specificity to characters that would be stereotypes in lesser films.

Even the tiniest roles here are filled with recognizable actors making distinct, memorable choices. The world of “Widows” is rich (the film was adapted from an ’80s British TV series), but McQueen and Flynn manage to contain it into a compelling two-hour arc. Its reputation as a “genre” film might ultimately hinder its long- term awards chances, but make no mistake, “Widows” is one of the best movies of the year.

- • •

Only the Coen Brothers could deliver something as bizarre, enthralling and (probably) divisive as “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” an anthology of six Western tales that arrived straight-to-Netflix last week.

The title refers to the film’s first story, with Tim Blake Nelson starring as a singing cowboy with a terrific shot and a knack for getting into gunfights. It’s the most lighthearted of the bunch, though it and the second story (“Near Algodones” with James Franco) offer some warning to the bleakness that comes in the later stories.

The fun thing about “Buster Scruggs” is that everyone will like certain stories better than others for different reasons, but the sixth story, set almost entirely inside the back of a stagecoach, more strongly hints at the Coens’ overarching intentions. The film’s overall tone eventually teeters into “No Country for Old Men” territory.

To me, the weakest segment (though not without merit) is the story featuring Liam Neeson as a trailside impresario, and the strongest follows Zoe Kazan as a young woman trying to survive on the Oregon Trail after her brother dies en route to the West. Tom Waits appears as a wily prospector in the film’s most visually striking segment, though each story makes terrific use of the classic Old West landscapes.

Given the film’s reported budget, it makes sense the Coens got the loot from the deepest of pockets (Netflix seemingly wrote a blank check). Still, even if the storytelling is more segmented like a television show, the visuals certainly warrant a big screen presentation. Try to eliminate the distractions at home and give “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” your undivided attention. The stories click together better than they appear on first glance.

- • •

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com