Queen & Slim is a 2019 American romantic road crime drama film directed by Melina Matsoukas (in her feature directorial debut) and with a screenplay by Lena Waithe from a story by James Frey and Waithe. The film tells the story of a young couple (Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith) who go on the run after killing a police officer, in self-defense, in the heat of an argument during a traffic stop that had quickly escalated. Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson and Indya Moore also star.
Queen & Slim had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 14, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 27, 2019, by Universal Pictures. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Kaluuya and Turner-Smith's lead performances, Matsoukas' direction and its overall theme and message.
Plot “Queen”, a criminal defense attorney, has an awkward dinner with her Tinder date “Slim“ in an Ohio diner. He drives her home, and they are pulled over by a white police officer who searches Slim and his trunk. When Slim asks if he could hurry as it is cold outside, the officer draws his gun on him. Queen gets out to confront the officer, reaching for her phone, and he shoots her in the leg. Slim tackles the officer and a scuffle ensues, resulting in Slim grabbing the officer's gun and shooting him dead. Taking the gun and throwing away their phones, Queen tells Slim they must go on the run, or else spend their lives in prison.
Out of gas, they flag down a passing driver, Edgar, who turns out to be a Kentucky sheriff. He receives an APB about the officer's death and realizes Queen and Slim are the suspects, but they take his truck at gunpoint, leaving him in the trunk of Slim's car. They pay a young boy to order them food, and he reveals that dashcam footage of their confrontation with the officer has gone viral. They accidentally strike the boy's father with the truck, but he is supportive of their actions and they drive him to a hospital. Slim has an unsettling encounter with a gas station clerk after letting him hold the gun.
They arrive in New Orleans at the house of Queen's estranged Uncle Earl, a pimp, and Slim proposes they escape to Cuba. After a police officer notices their truck, Earl gives them money and another car to reach Johnny Shepherd, a friend whose life he saved while serving overseas. Queen and Slim bond while dancing at a bar, where they are recognized by sympathetic locals, and stop to admire a horse by the road. Their car breaks down, forcing them to give all their money to a black mechanic, whose teenage son Junior expresses his admiration for them; Slim has Junior take their picture.
Slim calls his father, who cuts the call short; it is revealed that law enforcement were listening in, but his father refuses to cooperate. Queen takes Slim to visit the grave of her mother, who was accidentally killed by Earl during a disagreement; Queen successfully defended him in her first trial. Slim comforts Queen, and they have sex in the car. At a protest in support of the fugitives, Junior is urged to leave by a compassionate black officer, whom he impulsively shoots in the face, and who is, himself, killed.
Queen and Slim reach the home of Shepherd and his wife, who reveal that a $500,000 bounty has been placed on them, and Shepherd gives them directions to a man in Florida. A neighbor sees them arrive, and a SWAT team raids the house but fails to find them, hidden in a crawlspace under the Shepherds' bed. The next day, they sneak out of the house through a window and Queen dislocates her shoulder, which Slim resets, but her cry alerts a black officer stationed outside. He discovers them about to flee in the Shepherds' car, but lets them escape.
They reach the Florida address and sleep in the car, awakened in the morning by a black man with a shotgun. They follow him to his trailer where he makes a call, telling them a friend can help them escape by plane. He drives them to the tarmac and Queen and Slim walk toward a waiting plane, but a squad of police cars arrive. Joining hands, they declare their love for each other, but Queen is shot dead by an overeager officer. Ignoring police commands, Slim carries Queen's body toward the officers and is gunned down as well.
The people Queen and Slim encountered react to news reports of their deaths; the Florida man has collected the bounty. Their real names are revealed to be Angela Johnson and Ernest Hines, and hundreds attend their funeral, viewing them as martyrs as Junior's photo of them becomes a symbol across the country.
Cast
Daniel Kaluuya as Ernest "Slim" Hines Jodie Turner-Smith as Angela "Queen" Johnson Bokeem Woodbine as Uncle Earl Chloë Sevigny as Mrs. Shepherd Flea as Mr. Johnny Shepherd Sturgill Simpson as Police Officer Reed Indya Moore as Goddess Benito Martinez as Sheriff Edgar Jahi Di'Allo Winston as Junior Gralen Bryant Banks as auto mechanic/"Older Black Man" Dickson Obahor as Large Black Man Bryant Tardy as Chubby Thom Gossom Jr. as Slim's Father Melanie Halfkenny as Naomi Bertrand E. Boyd II as Florida Man
Production On July 19, 2018, it was announced that production company Makeready had won a bidding war to co-finance the dramatic thriller film Queen & Slim, scripted by Lena Waithe from an original idea by James Frey, which would star Daniel Kaluuya and be directed by Melina Matsoukas. In November 2018, Jodie Turner-Smith was cast to star opposite Kaluuya. In March 2019, Chloë Sevigny joined the cast of the film. Shiona Turini served as costume designer.
Principal photography began in January 2019. Production concluded on March 22, 2019.
Music
The score album for Queen & Slim was composed by English musician Devonté Hynes. On choosing the composer, Matsoukas stated she wanted a "black composer that could live between classical, hip-hop, and pop that's current", further asking "Who would be our current Quincy Jones?". Matsoukas then turned to Solange Knowles for advice; Knowles suggested Hynes.
Release Queen & Slim had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 14, 2019. It was theatrically released in the United States on November 27, 2019, by Universal Pictures. It was released in the United Kingdom in January 2020.
Reception Box office Queen & Slim grossed $43.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $4.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $48.3 million.
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Knives Out, and was projected to gross $12–16 million from 1,625 theaters over its five-day opening weekend. It made $1.7 million on its first day, Wednesday, and $2.4 million on Thursday, which was Thanksgiving Day. It went on to gross $11.9 million during its opening weekend (a five-day total of $16 million), finishing fourth at the box office. In its second weekend the film made $6.5 million (a drop of 45%), remaining in fourth.
Critical response Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 82% based on 233 reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Stylish, provocative, and powerful, Queen & Slim tells a gripping fugitive story steeped in timely, thoughtful subtext." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 5 out of 5 stars, with 79% saying they would definitely recommend it.
Mark Kermode of The Guardian assigned the film four out of five stars writing: "in the end it's the love story that makes the film matter, conjured with enough electricity to allow the polemics of the head to be swept along by the passions of the heart." Johnny Oleksinski of New York Post praised Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith's lead performances. Adam White of The Independent labelled it "simultaneously beautiful and troubling" and praised Melina Matsoukas' directing.
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result African-American Film Critics AssociationDecember 10, 2019Impact AwardMelina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe and James FreyTop 10 Best FilmsAlliance of Women Film Journalists AwardsJanuary 10, 2020Best Woman's Breakthrough PerformanceJodie Turner-SmithASCAP London Awards October 21, 2020Top Music Film Awards Devonté HynesAustin Film Critics Association AwardsJanuary 6, 2020Best First Film Melina MatsoukasBET AwardsJune 28, 2020Best MovieQueen & SlimBlack Film Critics Circle AwardsDecember 19, 2019Best PictureMelina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe and James FreyBest Original ScreenplayLena WaitheBlack Reel AwardsFebruary 6, 2020Outstanding FilmMelina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe and James FreyOutstanding DirectorMelina MatsoukasOutstanding Emerging DirectorOutstanding ActressJodie Turner-SmithOutstanding Breakthrough Performance, FemaleOutstanding ActorDaniel Kaluuya Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original Lena WaitheOutstanding First Screenplay Outstanding Original ScoreDev Hynes Outstanding Cinematography Tad RadcliffeOutstanding Costume Design Shiona TuriniOutstanding Production Design Karen MurphyOutstanding Original Song"Collide" "Guarding the Gates" Costume Designers Guild Awards January 28, 2020Excellence in Contemporary FilmShiona TuriniDirectors Guild of America AwardsJanuary 25, 2020 Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film Melina Matsoukas Florida Film Critics Circle Awards December 23, 2019Best First FilmMelina MatsoukasGuild of Music Supervisors AwardsFebruary 6, 2020Best Music Supervision for Films Budgeted Under $25 MillionKier LehmanHawaii Film Critics Society Awards January 14, 2020Best First FilmMelina Matsoukas Best New FilmmakerHollywood Music in Media Awards November 20, 2019Outstanding Music Supervision - FilmKier LehmanBest Soundtrack AlbumQueen & Slim SoundtrackHollywood Critics Association AwardsJanuary 9, 2020Best First FeatureMelina MatsoukasMotion Picture Sound Editors AwardsJanuary 19, 2020Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Music UnderscoreJoseph S. DeBeasi NAACP Image AwardsFebruary 22, 2020Outstanding Motion PictureQueen & SlimOutstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion PictureOutstanding Independent Motion PictureOutstanding Actor in a Motion PictureDaniel KaluuyaOutstanding Actress in a Motion PictureJodie Turner-SmithOutstanding Breakthrough Role in a Motion PictureOutstanding Soundtrack/Compilation AlbumQueen & Slim SoundtrackNational Board of Review December 3, 2019Best Directorial DebutMelina Matsoukas Online Association of Female Film CriticsDecember 23, 2019Breakthrough FilmmakerMelina MatsoukasOnline Film Critics Society Awards January 6, 2020Best Debut FeatureMelina MatsoukasSt. Louis Film Critics Association AwardsDecember 15, 2019Best Original ScreenplayLena WaitheToronto Film Critics Association AwardsDecember 8, 2019Best First FeatureMelina MatsoukasWomen Film Critics Circle AwardsDecember 9, 2019 Best Woman Storyteller Lena Waithe Best Equality of the Sexes Queen & Slim Best Screen Couple Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith Josephine Baker Award Queen & Slim
See also List of black films of the 2010s
References
External links
AFI FEST Interview: QUEEN & SLIM Writer Lena Waithe