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Queen & Slim Brooklyn Screening

Source: Jennifer Johnson / Universal

Queen & Slim is the epic new-age love story of our time that comes once every few decades. 

Related: Lena Waithe & Halle Berry To Executive Produce Forthcoming ‘Boomerang’ Series

The romantic suspense is a modern version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet illustrated with compelling images of black love and community told through a poetic-like structure. 

“I want him to love me so deeply I’m not afraid to show him how ugly I can be. I want him to show me scars I never knew I had.”

 

Although Ernest”Slim” and Angela “Queen” are often referred to as the black Bonnie and Clyde throughout the film, their characters are far from outlaws rebelling against the law. 

These two star-crossed lovers —played by British actors Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith —are drawn to each other in their attempts to escape the injustices found in America’s justice system after a deadly encounter of police brutality. 

Kaluuya and Turner-Smith bring themes of love, community, and mindfulness to life with their on-screen chemistry.

She’s a loner moved only by fact, and he’s a family man driven by faith. Yet, their opposition is the main factor that drives them towards psychological healing and freedom. 

The film does a great job of stressing the importance of finding joy in the journey to one’s destination— making the characters’ run from the law seem like a spiritual road trip destined by fate. 

Watching the lovers relish recklessly in present time as they stop to ride horses and dance at neighborhood juke joints, leaves you wondering when was the last time you lived in the moment. 

 

 

The tragic love story ends with an expected yet surprising slaying of the film’s protagonists that startles viewers in true horror film fashion as they are forced to mourn the characters that everyone grew to love.

Lena Waithe and Melina Matsoukas call this film a form of “protest art,” nearly hitting theaters on the 5th anniversary of Tamir Rice’s death. 

12-year-old Rice was shot by 26-year-old police officer Timothy Loehmann in Cleveland, Ohio for playing with a toy gun. 

Although the film has a slow build-up, the female powerhouse does an excellent job of capturing an iconic black love story in a film that showcases what it means to be black in current-day America. 

That’s why we’re giving this film 4 out of 5 stars. Catch Queen & Slim in theaters now! 

Lena Waithe And Melina Matsoukas’s ‘Queen & Slim’ Is Modern Day Shakespeare  was originally published on boomphilly.com