Queen & Slim

          The story of a young black couple who go on the run after killing a policeman in self defense during a traffic stop gone wrong, this new drama is both a representation of being black in today's America and a tragic love story.

          As a white man in America, I can't relate to the screenplay by Lena Waithe but I can empathize with the characters as they drive from Ohio to Florida with the hope of staying one step ahead of the law. As they make their way across the country, they become folk heroes to the black community. Strangers help them evade the police while others are not to be trusted. Support for them grows into a protest against police violence that only leads to more violence.

      Jodie Turner-Smith plays "Queen" and Daniel Kaluunya plays "Slim". Bokeem Woodbine co-stars as "Uncle Earl" and Chloe Sevigny, Flea, and Sturgill Simpson have small but significant cameos.  Ms. Turner -Smith and Mr. Kaluunya have great chemistry, especially portraying two people who couldn't be more different and don't even like each other very much at first. Thrown together into a nightmare situation, they inevitably grow close over the course of a six day manhunt.

       The ending is inevitable but along the way, the message gets muddled. The script is filled with many plot contrivances. It's occasionally suspenseful and frequently on point but also asks a lot of it's audience to accept what happens.