Overview
Four women unite to reclaim their lives after tragedy strikes, turning despair into determination.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- tense
- brooding
- sardonic
- crime movie night
- serious thriller night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an intense, stylish heist thriller elevated by a stellar ensemble and incisive social and political commentary.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The widows’ heist is entangled with Chicago electoral politics, criminal debt, and institutional corruption.
Veronica, Alice, Linda, and Belle organize around the debts and dangers left by their husbands.
Contemporary Chicago neighborhoods, campaign spaces, luxury homes, and criminal underworlds are rendered as connected power zones.
The women pursue the robbery because their husbands’ deaths leave them exposed to threats and financial demands.
Films like Widows, and why
Ocean's 8
female-led heist plotting, crime-world pressure, and sharp social commentary
The Town
morally complex crime drama combining heist mechanics with political corruption and urban inequality
Heat
ensemble crime thriller driven by betrayal, grief, and escalating criminal danger
The Kitchen
female-centered crime narrative with confrontational social themes and intense performances
Movie Details
- Director
- Steve McQueen
- Release Date
- 2018-11-06
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (2542)
Cast
- Viola Davis
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Elizabeth Debicki
- Cynthia Erivo
- Colin Farrell
- Robert Duvall
- Liam Neeson
- Brian Tyree Henry
- Daniel Kaluuya
- Lukas Haas
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Starz Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Widows about?
- Four Chicago widows inherit their husbands’ criminal debt and answer it with a dangerous heist of their own.
- What is Widows like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Widows as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Widows violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Widows as brutal.
- What did critics think of Widows?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an intense, stylish heist thriller elevated by a stellar ensemble and incisive social and political commentary.
- Which films are like Widows?
- Films with a similar feel include Ocean's 8, The Town, Heat, and The Kitchen.
- How long is Widows?
- Widows runs 129 minutes.
- Where can I watch Widows?
- In United States, Widows streams on Starz Apple TV channel.
