Queen & Slim
A Timely Spin on Bonnie and Clyde
A first date takes a dark turn for a young African-American couple when they are pulled over by a police officer. Just reading that line I’m sure you just felt your stomach drop, undoubtedly you’re now thinking of the preponderance of police violence committed against people of color. Queen & Slim doesn’t turn into another The Hate U Give, instead, when the police officer unnecessarily escalates the situation Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) end up killing him in self defense. The couple proceeds to go on the run from the cops, taking shelter where and with whom they can.
This romantic drama/thriller is being described as a modern-day take on the Bonnie and Clyde story. Of course, unlike Bonnie and Clyde, Queen and Slim are not a couple of gang-leading bank robbers (admittedly, I don’t know their backstories since I’ve only seen the trailer, so I’m making an educated guess here), just two people, victims of an unfair, and racist system that’s been stacked against them who decided it was finally time to fight back. Now, knowing how the Bonnie and Clyde story ends, I am expecting that this story may pan out similarly.
Queen & Slim was directed by Melina Matsoukas, marking her feature film debut, from a script written by Lena Waithe (based on a story Waithe created with James Frey.) In addition to Turner-Smith and Kaluuya, Queen & Slim also stars Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Indya Moore, and Bokeem Woodbine.
Queen & Slim is scheduled to be released on November 27, 2019 by Universal Pictures.