Fences (2016)

We stan a QUEEN!!!

Viola Davis earned the legendary Holy Grail of the entertainment industry, EGOT status, on Sunday, February 5, 2023.

“It has just been such a journey. . .I just EGOT!” Davis says in her acceptance speech. Her fans (including me) have been celebrating all over social media.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1FfCHeDsY8[/embed]

Indeed, Viola Davis has had an incredible journey replete with wins (and obstacles to overcome). She started in the 1990s with Broadway productions like August Wilson's Seven Guitars. She continued building her career with off-Broadway productions and television appearances on shows like NYPD Blue and New York Undercover. She also had smaller roles in films like the military comedy, The Pentagon Wars on HBO alongside Kelsey Grammer of Frasier and Cheers fame. She continued appearing in films and TV shows through the 2000s like Antwone Fisher, Ocean's Eleven, Far From Heaven, and Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit. She also continued her acclaimed Broadway career, working with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams in John Patrick Shanley's Doubt. The 2010s saw her profile rise to superstardom with major roles in The Help, Get on Up, Lila & Eve, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Suicide Squad. Viola Davis' success has continued into today with producing credits and Box Office success with The Woman King and her bestselling memoir. She is even nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at this year's BAFTA Awards (British Academy of Film and Television Arts).

After years of being ignored, shut down, or shifted around, I think we’re finally getting somewhere with Black cinema getting its due. I think it is finally at the point where mainstream audiences will just watch a movie for black audiences and not have it feel forced or empty. It’s not at the level it needs to be at just yet, but I do think it is getting traction. Not counting the Oscars (especially after seeing Green Book win last year), I think that black cinema is making waves with the general population, and that excites me, because that can break up the formulaic and problematic amount of films that reach audiences and can open up the door for other minorities to start appearing in film more now that it’s proving that movies with diversity CAN reach people of all backgrounds despite their intended audience.

I think since 2016, there has been a stream of successful (and now iconic) movies by black artists, for black audiences, with general appeal.Moonlight,Fences,Get Out,Us,Blackkklansman,Blindspotting,If Beale Street Could Talk, Sorry to Bother You,The Hate U Give, andBlack Pantherare just afewof the plethora that come to mind, and all are great or excellent movies. It’s a far cry from times like 2004 where the most notable black led movies wereHotel Rwanda(white director) andWhite Chicks(infamously bad).

So, how doesQueen & Slim hold up in this black film-making start of a renaissance? It’s…OK. And I’m not gonna lie. I am highly disappointed that it’s just OK, because this was one of the most anticipated films of the year for me, and for good reason. For starters, the premise is the best kind of hook you could ask for. A Black man shoots a white police officer in self defense while on a Tinder date. He and the date go on the run. That’s an amazing idea for a film.

Likewise, it is the directorial debut of double Grammy winner Melina Matsoukas, who is best known for her fantastic music videos. And on top of that, Daniel Kaluuya, one of my up and coming favorite new actors, was one of the stars. And yes, I was somewhat right. The premise was intriguing. The direction was nice. The acting was great. But I forgot the cardinal virtue of good cinema - a solid script.