An impromptu road trip brings two people together in Queen & Slim, the directorial debut of Melina Matsoukas.
The pair were only supposed to meet up for a night. A casual dinner, a little hangout time, just getting to know each other, but their plans were interrupted when a cop pulled them over. The minor traffic violation spun out of control and the cop ended up dead, subverting the usual way these encounters go down. With law enforcement bearing down and the black community rallying in support, the pair are forced to evade attention and capture by running, with only the other person for support.
While this dreamy feature is the debut of Matsoukas, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ve been astounded by her work before. Besides working on TV like Insecure and Master of None, she’s done a ton of stuff with Beyoncé, including a little thing called Lemonade. It’s the Master of None connection that probably helped her land this gig, though, as the project is written and produced by none other than Lena Waithe.
The star power extends in front of the camera as well, with Daniel Kaluuya staring as half of the titular couple and Jodie Turner-Smith poised to break out. Their co-stars include Chloë Sevigny, Indya Moore, Flea, and Bokeem Woodbine, but I’d suspect each will only appear briefly given the transient nature of the narrative. Given the incredibly impressive group of people behind Queen & Slim, it looks like this one shouldn’t be missed.
Queen & Slim is directed by Melina Matsoukas and stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. It will be released in the US on November 27th, 2019 and in the UK on January 31st, 2020. For international release dates, click here.
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