Queen & Slim (2020 in Spain)

Elevator Pitch: An uptight Black female defence lawyer and a laid back Black male Christian shop assistant meet on a Tinder date, and don’t really get on, but during the drive home they are stopped by a racist White policeman and in the resulting altercation the policeman is shot dead. The woman persuades the man that they should go on the run, so despite his misgivings they do. There are nationwide broadcasts about them and a price on their heads, but despite setbacks they move slowly towards their objective; a flight to Cuba.

Content: There is sex, which takes place while elsewhere riots in their support are taking place, and one of the policemen subduing the riot is killed. The pair stumble from one refuge to another, sometime forgetting things essential for their survival, sometimes disregarding their safety altogether, and are sometimes helped in unexpected ways. From being distant from each other they gradually bond in the face of adversity.

A View: This was a simple plot fairly well told, although critics have suggested that it was far too long. I was completely miffed by the quite explicit sex, which took place in their car, intercut with the riot in their favour, in one of the towns they had passed through. I did not understand the message, although their obviously was one. It was also pretty obvious what was going to happen from the outset. So if it is a slow movie week, and you want to go to the cinema to see something it would be worth the ticket price.

Additional info: I noted that one Black critic, instead of using the words “people of colour”  used the word Black with a capital B, so I have chosen to do the same, In this review I have used a capital W for White as well. I’m not sure about that, and the jury is still out on Yellow.