Widows

Oscar-winner Steve McQueen directed (and co-wrote) this creative Chicago crime story, the dark, disturbing "Widows," a remake of the 1983 British TV series he watched as a kid.

Oscar-winner Viola Davis is Veronica, wife of mobster Harry (real-life racist Liam Neeson), left to straighten out his illicit affairs when he and his gang meet a hail of gunfire and a helluva explosion during a heist.

Millions of dollars blew up in the van alongside the crew, so, under duress, bereft Veronica recovers Harry's robbery planning notebook. She coerces the help of fellow grievers Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) to get squared with Harry's many enemies, including racist alderman Colin Farrell and his even more racist dad Robert Duvall.

Daniel Kaluuya plays the crazy mobster Jatemme and Brian Tyree Henry is mob boss Jamal. A crime caper headed by an African-American woman is unusual and fresh, and Davis is always a formidable force, as are the other female leads, but the vibe was all anger, with little redemption.

The Blu-ray offers featurettes about the lead actors, as well as "Widows Unmasked: A Chicago Story," interviews with McQueen about his selection of this project, and with co-writer Gillian Flynn ("Gone Girl," "Sharp Objects").

"It was like two people riffing on guitars, writing a song," McQueen said about their collaboration.

Flynn talks about "the real Chicago" being a special place to set this iteration. She enjoyed interviewing people around the city as they developed the script, professors who specialize in race, police officers and the like.

The creative team says the city was the perfect place, the epicenter of American society, to talk about, race, politics, religion, policing and crime in a believable way.

Flynn says that their thesis was, "What does it look like when women come together in their own form of power, by choice or by force?"

Davis summarizes the script and experience: "It was dense; it was bad-ass."

"Widows
Blu-ray
$19.96
https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/widows