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WA R N I N G!
I L E R S! S P O I L E R S! S P O I L E R S! S P O I L E
Amon Warmann:One of
the major themes in Queen
& Slim is legacy, in particular
how sometimes Black people
are more celebrated in death
than in life. Indeed, our images
can become one of the more
powerful things that we leave
behind, and the picture of our
titular couple taken at a garage
showing Queen gazing
admirably at a defi ant Slim
while perched on a Pontiac
Catalina is instantly iconic
while exuding effortless cool.
It also proves to be the ideal
way to end the movie, the
fi nal shot seeing Queen and
Slim being immortalised on
a mural, much like Michael
Brown, Tamir Rice, Trayvon
Martin, and other real-life
Black Americans whose lives
were taken.Above: The
couple
slow-dance at
a Mississippi
juke joint while
on the run.
Left: A Black cop
brings some
good fortune.Above right:
Queen and
Slim’s escape
is thwarted.
Left: Slim
and Queen’s
emphatic,
iconic pose.Lena Waithe:I wanted it to
feel like a throwback, even the
setting, to a juke joint from back
in the day. I wanted it to feel like
a safe space. The further back
you go, the more diffi cult it was
for Black people, but before
integration, one of the joys of
segregation was that we had
strong communities because
there were no other communities
that we could just go into.
Black people were almost morebonded during that time. It’s a
very interesting thing to think
about. We need integration but
we don’t want to lose ourselves
in that. So I wanted that [scene]
to feel like a throwback to
when everything was all mixed
up. I wanted it to feel old,
moody and blues-y. Melina
[Matsoukas, director] brings
a style, a grace, a dignity and
a musicality — I couldn’t have
imagined that when I wrote it.Amon Warmann:By the end,
it’s hard not to be rooting for our
fugitives to make it to Cuba, sip
on some mojitos and live out
the rest of their lives in peace.
Instead, the arrival of the police
just before they can escape on a
plane is a devastating gut-punch
and we, like our central couple,
quickly cycle from hope to
dread. Take a step back, and
it’s clear that the fi lm couldn’t
have ended any other way.Lena Waithe: The whole
statement I was trying to makewith the fi lm is that Black
people are being killed by
police offi cers in what I believe
are alarming numbers. I get the
idea of wanting us to win but it
really is the job of the artist to
refl ect the times. It would have
been irresponsible of me to
write the fairy tale about what
it means to be Black in 2020
or what it means to be Black
in our generation. I think it’s
important we acknowledge that,
in our country, somebody could
be killed simply because they
were born Black.7 THE ENDING
6 THE PHOTO
4 THE BAR
moment that could’ve gone
either way occurs in the fi nal
act, when a Black cop corners
Queen and Slim in a getaway
car. Electing to let them go,
he tells his racist white partner
that it was “a couple of deer,
caught in some branches...
I set ’em free”. It turns out
to be one of the last moments
of good fortune in the movie.5 THE COP LETTING THEM GO
Amon Warmann: One of the
many takeaways from Queen &
Slim is that Black people are not
a monolith. Our lead characters
are met with a variety of
responses to their actions from
the Black community ranging
from support to disapproval,
a gambit that helps keeps the
audience on edge as they try to
make their escape. One such
3 THE TRANSFORMATION
Amon Warmann: Queen debuts a striking new
short-haired, natural look as a disguise once
she’s on the run with Slim. In addition to
highlighting the beauty of Black hair, it also
evokes Queen’s power and confi dence.
It can also be seen as a riff on The
Carters’ Everything Is Love
album cover.UPLOADED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws