The Bonnie & Clyde story is a classic tale of true love, crime, and tragedy. We’ve seen the story adapted in film multiple times, but never quite in the way “Queen & Slim” presents it.
As seen in the new trailer for “Queen & Slim,” the story of Bonnie & Clyde is flipped on its head a bit, as the film follows the same tale of crime and true love, but through a decided 2019 lens. The lead characters are two Black people that find themselves running for their lives after a run-in with a white police officer ends with the cop dead. What follows is a story of two young people trying to figure out what to do next, while the community looks at them as potential menaces or heroes.
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The film stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. “Queen & Slim” is written by Lena Waithe, who reportedly worked on the script for the film after hearing the original idea from author James Frey (do with that information what you want). The film is directed by Melina Matsoukas, making her feature debut. Previously, the filmmaker was probably best known for her years of music video and commercial directing.
“Queen & Slim” arrives in theaters on November 27.
Here’s the synopsis:
While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man (Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith, in her first starring feature-film role), are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results, when the man kills the police officer in self-defense. Terrified and in fear for their lives, the man, a retail employee, and the woman, a criminal defense lawyer, are forced to go on the run. But the incident is captured on video and goes viral, and the couple unwittingly become a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people across the country.
As they drive, these two unlikely fugitives will discover themselves and each other in the most dire and desperate of circumstances, and will forge a deep and powerful love that will reveal their shared humanity and shape the rest of their lives.