Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Widows" (2018)

Scene from Widows

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

The Movie

Widows (2018)

Directed By: Steve McQueen

Written By: Gillian Flynn & Steve McQueen (Screenplay), Lynda La Plante (Based On)

Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Running Time 129 minutes

Summary: Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands, and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

The Movie

There's few career moves that seem as unprecedented as Steve McQueen doing Widows. To look at his filmography before this heist thriller that opens with a literal explosion, you would see someone who is patient and desires scenes to play out gradually. His directorial debut (Hunger) had a long take that lasted 17.5 minutes and focused on a seemingly mundane conversation. To say the least, he was an art house director who was now turning to the studios to make a film that was unlike his work before. No matter what he would do, the follow-up to the Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave would be one that audiences and critics clamored for, hoping that he would capture the same magic and relevance, or at least create something that proved he wasn't a victim of the Oscar curse. For a filmmaker whose previous of decade of work uses the word "slow" as a compliment, Widows is quite the adrenaline shot.

What makes the film even more incredible and worthy of Oscar talk was the caliber behind the film. On screenplay was Gillian Flynn, whose film Gone Girl got her close to a screenplay nomination (and earned actress Rosamund Pike a nomination). On screen was a bevvy of incredible actors that included recent actor nominee Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) and winner Viola Davis (Fences). This was the assemblage of a team that wasn't messing around. No matter what would happen, they were going to come out swinging with a heist thriller that felt important. While it still seems bizarre to think of 12 Years a Slave and Widows coming from the same filmmaker, the results share his gifted focus to craft and story, including memorable long takes and editing that emphasized the story (and Hans Zimmer showed up again on score as well). 

Despite all of the acclaim, Widows is a film that will remain an anomaly and possibly even cult film for everyone involved. For a team this talented and reviews that good, it's strange to find this among the Oscar rejects. While some would argue that it never stood a chance because heist movies were never taken seriously, there's still the question as to why a film that felt so furiously important would get shut out of almost everything. It could be that McQueen's name isn't attached to action films (or at least this McQueen's), or that the idea of women doing a man's job seems to be patronizing in some respects. Whatever the case may be, it was one of the biggest snubs of the Oscar season and other awards branches in general. It had everything going for it and still failed. If any film of 2018 deserves the moniker of Failed Oscar Campaigns, it's McQueen, the man whose Best Picture follow-up got all of the love without any of the reward. 

- The Campaign -

The general rule of thumb is to get excited for anybody who wins Best Picture. There's always an allure about what they would do next, especially with Steve McQueen. 12 Years a Slave was one of the greatest winners of the Academy in quite some time, managing to reshape how people talked about America's history with racism. Whatever he did next had a lot to live up to in terms of important subject matter. Given that he had become known for making slow and meticulous features, it was strange to see him turn to Widows, based on a 1983 TV miniseries, which would speed things up and find him experimenting on a studio level. That unto itself was exciting. Add in a cast that included Davis, Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Elizabeth Debicki, Brian Tyree Henry, and Michelle Rodriguez and he was set for one of the finest casts in any 2018 motion picture - including Avengers: Infinity War.

Things were looking right for him as screenwriter Flynn came on board and Zimmer returned to compose for him. By the time that marketing kicked off in late summer of 2018, things were already looking great. The film wasn't too far off from premiering at film festivals opposite A Star is Born to critical acclaim. Many praised the craft of the film, including a long take where Farrell drove through the city of Chicago while giving a memorable monologue. The film was a highlight of a lot of relevant themes during the Me Too movement. For one, the idea of women becoming empowered and independent was a big part of the marketing with Davis emphasizing dialogue that compared their mission to masculine archetypes, for example "Because they don't think we have the balls to pull it off." There were also undertones of political and racial commentary scattered throughout. Given that Flynn was also coming off of the successful HBO miniseries Sharp Objects from that summer, Widows was as high profile as they came and the film festivals only built the anticipation.

Among the talking points during the press junkets was the hiring of Michelle Rodriguez. The actress from The Fast and the Furious franchise had gained a reputation for being "difficult." People had told McQueen not to hire her, which only compelled him to go through with it. As a result, many felt that the film showed a new side to her that was edgy and serious. Also receiving praise was Debicki, who up to that point was seen as a character actress. Along with praise for tall actresses, many believed her role was among the most compelling in the film. Another co-star Cynthia Erivo would become popular on Twitter thanks to one scene where she runs. Many felt, whether joking or not, that she should replace Tom Cruise as the quintessential running meme actor. As for Davis, many found her confidence in the lead performance to be an almost sure thing for another Oscar nomination. Kaluuya and Henry also played compelling antagonists with many again assuming that Kaluuya's intimidating role was worthy of more respect.

With all of the acclaim behind it, the only thing the film had to do was be released. Unfortunately, the film under-performed at the box office and the good will was starting to deflate. While critics loved the film, there was a small contingent of audiences who felt that the film was marketed poorly, especially in how it represented the action. Other groups doubted that the film would even stand a chance for Oscar consideration given its genre trappings. Many would counterattack this by asking then why Kaluuya's other 2018 film, Black Panther, had been considered a shoe-in for Best Picture for months by that point. When asked why he thought the film failed, McQueen would claim that it was because of probably the feminism and racial politics of the film. It wasn't a conventional heist movie, but it was also far from the abstract nature of films like Drive (2011). Many found it boring, and by that point the rest of the Oscar race was taking shape with heavyweights like Roma and Green Book starting to gain buzz.

Another factor was ironically the studio that released the film: 20th Century Fox. It could be argued that they did a poor job of marketing the film because of a variety of reasons. The most noteworthy is that they were suffering a drastic slump in revenue after 2017's underperforming box office. It was so bad that it sent films like Annihilation to Netflix when released internationally. Instead, they threw all of their attention behind the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. To their credit, that film has grossed over $800 million and is among the highest grossing dramas in history. This isn't to say it's necessarily regarded as the superior film, but from the standpoint of a studio wanting to make money, it was the smart move after all.  

Widows seemed like a confusing film to market and even harder to sell as an Oscar front runner. Heist films in general were not Oscar friendly. However, it's still baffling that it wasn't even capable of matching an ounce of the credit that 12 Years a Slave should've gained the director. Instead, it proved to be a film that had strong appeal from critics and little else. It seemed destined to become a cult favorite, though it's still too early to tell. It didn't show up at any major awards ceremonies despite its acclaim, and even its status as the better version of Ocean's 8 didn't get it a quarter of the box office glory. The film may or may not have ever been an Oscar contender, but it should've been. Instead it's likely to remain one of those odd footnotes akin to First Man missing out on a Best Picture nomination. 

- The Payoff -

To 20th Century Fox's credit, they bet on the right horse. Along with becoming one of the year's most successful releases, Bohemian Rhapsody earned several nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor for Rami Malek. The only disadvantage is that the film has since been mired with controversy that has made it considered one of the worst nominees of the 21st century. Time will tell how that film's legacy plays out. For Widows, it appears to have ended before 2018 was even over. By the time that the Golden Globe nominations were announced the race was already starting to form, and nobody from the film was on that list. It wasn't going to be an overdue nomination for Flynn, nor a follow-up for Davis. What it would have instead was a fade into obscurity. The only time that anyone really has talked about it since was in relation to how it failed to get any attention, and how Brian Tyree Henry had an incredible year as a supporting actor (two of his films, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and If Beale Street Could Talk, received nominations). 

For the most part, the Oscar season had some glory for indie films that missed the final cut. Films like Destroyer, Boy Erased, and Beautiful Boy all had a moment to gain traction. Others, like the misguided The Front-Runner, failed because they weren't all that good. It makes the failure of Widows all the more baffling, as it's a film that speaks to the moment and explores racial, political, and gender issues in a manner that are compelling and accessible. While it could be the studio's fault for not promoting it right, maybe the film was always too esoteric for mainstream audiences despite being one of the most engaging crossovers in recent years. Widows should've been a victory lap for McQueen and his cast and crew. Instead, it's likely to gain appreciation as the years go on. For now it's forgotten and makes one wonder if McQueen would ever return to the Oscar conversation, or art house cinema, ever again.