The Woman King (2022)

[wanderingstar]

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A historical epic inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.

I saw this a couple of days ago and I really liked it. The cast was amazing! Viola Davis was awesome as always, as was Lashana Lynch (have loved her since I first saw her in the short-lived Shondaland show, Still Star-Crossed). I've not seen Sheila Atim or Thuso Mbedu before, but they were both also great.

The direction was also outstanding! Gina Prince-Bythewood brings this epic story to brilliant life. 

Was it perfect? No. I could've done without the Malik side plot. And the portrayal of the Oyo tribe kingdom was pretty one-dimensional. But overall, this story and these characters moved me.

I have also been reading about the controversy surrounding the film's portrayal of the Agojie's participation in the slave trade. This article is the best one I've found so far: Sisterhood and Slavery in “The Woman King” 

Edited September 25, 2022 by Gillian Rosh

[kiddo82]

I enjoyed this as well and I agree about the Malik side plot which I could have completely done without.  I thought the battle scenes were really well done and I actually appreciate that the gore was restrained.  I don't really have a problem with gore but if you have a product as good as this then my philosophy is you shouldn't need to hide behind gimmicks.  Sometimes it becomes all sizzle/no steak and that didn't seem to be the case here.  And maybe they just wanted to keep it PG-13 to open it up to wider audience.  Either way, I think it worked.  Viola Davis is always great but Lashana Lynch stole this for me.  I hope she continues her ascent into movie stardom.  I think you could have trimmed a couple of minutes here and there as the end felt a little drawn out to me but that's really a minor nitpick.  And kudos to the production team because this was really modestly budgeted for a movie of this scope (I had heard around 50 mil) and you couldn't necessarily tell.    

As for the controversy I've said before and I'll say again, I don't need historical fiction pieces to be documentaries.  As long as these films aren't shying away from the fact that they take license then I can compartmentalize.  

Edited September 25, 2022 by kiddo82

[Tenshinhan]

3 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

And the portrayal of the Oyo tribe was pretty one-dimensional.

Just wanted to point out that the Oyo was a kingdom, not any kind of "tribe".  I say that not to be overly critical, but for anyone else who might read this thread and doesn't understand.

[Pearson80]

3 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

As for the controversy I've said before and I'll say again, I don't need historical fiction pieces to be documentaries.  As long as these films aren't shying away from the fact that they take license then I can compartmentalize.  

There seems to be a boycott by Black people on social media who have never seen the movie.  I just don't understand this if we don't support movies featuring us then who will.. I am always amazed how easily people can be influenced by trolls misinformation and disinformation online..

All movies take creative license and you just have to roll with it.. 

[Hiyo]

I've learned to stop depending on movies for historical accuracy since Elizabeth from back in the late 90s.

[wanderingstar]

2 hours ago, Tenshinhan said:

Just wanted to point out that the Oyo was a kingdom, not any kind of "tribe".  I say that not to be overly critical, but for anyone else who might read this thread and doesn't understand.

Thanks for the reminder! I've updated. 

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Hiyo said:

I've learned to stop depending on movies for historical accuracy since Elizabeth from back in the late 90s.

Seriously. If historical fiction movies about famous white people can fudge the facts, so can movies about famous POC.

Social media is just the worst, and certain people that aren’t Black have been using the boycott controversy for their whataboutism when it comes to historical culpability. In any case, the boycott hasn’t made much of an impact because the movie has been doing quite well at the box office.

[Tenshinhan]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

If historical fiction movies about famous white people can fudge the facts, so can movies about famous POC.

True, however when it's films about Blacks and other minorities then the consequences of historical inaccuracies are much worse than if it were White-centered films.  So I can understand why so many are sensitive to the issue.

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Social media is just the worst, and certain people that aren’t Black have been using the boycott controversy for their whataboutism when it comes to historical culpability.

Those kinds of people have always existed and will jump on any opportunity to distort reality in their pursuit of anti-Blackness.

[Ms.Moon]

I went to see this movie with my family yesterday and we all loved it.  All the actresses looked like they could do the fights.  All of their bodies looked like they could actually do the type of fighting they did and the fights were choreographed for the women who might be smaller than the men they were fighting to be able to fight them to win by fighting smart. 

[Racj82]

9 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

There seems to be a boycott by Black people on social media who have never seen the movie.  I just don't understand this if we don't support movies featuring us then who will.. I am always amazed how easily people can be influenced by trolls misinformation and disinformation online..

All movies take creative license and you just have to roll with it.. 

People of all races have been pushing back on the Hollywood sanitizing of historical events and figures for years and years. It's nothing new. People are just louder these days.

Some people have read up on the actual history and support it. I don't blame them. I don't care what race is on screen. If I don't support the message, then I won't support it period.

I generally dont care. Ill see it eventually but i dont care about running out to the movies anymore.

[knitorpurl]

Saw this tonight. The emotion, strength and self-sacrifice to become these warriors was amazing in real life and the training and choreography needed to act it on screen was impressive. 

It is a powerful story, well told and very well acted.

[Cress]

I've watched the movie twice, but I recently heard there was a post credits scene. Is that really true? Was it to set up a sequel or something? I'm not sure if I'll see again in theater or just wait for streaming.

[tljgator]

On 10/15/2022 at 1:51 PM, Cress said:

I recently heard there was a post credits scene

Just caught up to this tonight, now that it's streaming on Netflix. Yes, there is a brief scene mid-credits for others who may be watching now. (It didn't seem to portend a follow-up to me.)

The acting was outstanding all around and it's a travesty that none of these women got Oscar noms for their work. Really solid film.

[Side note: much respect for the writers, costume, and prop people on Black Panther who clearly drew historical inspiration from the women in this story for the women warriors in their story. It was so clear to see watching this and I appreciated it.]