The Woman King
Year: 2022
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Starring: Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch & Thuso Mbedu
Runtime: 135 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 14/10/22
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Starring: Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch & Thuso Mbedu
Runtime: 135 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 14/10/22
I’m probably not the right person to be writing a review for The Woman King but being a white man, I can’t help but voice my opinion where it isn’t needed. I know only what I was taught at school about the slave trade, so that means to say nothing at all, and nineteenth century Africa is not exactly my historical forte. So, this review of The Woman King is best taken with a pinch of salt as I do not have any historical context, I’m just taking the film at face value, which is sometimes the best way to look at things.
Set in 1823, The Woman King is based on the exploits of the Agojie, a group of warrior women from the kingdom of Dahome in West Africa. The Agojie have captured slaves for the Oyo Empire for a number of years, though leader of the warriors, General Nanisca (Viola Davis), does not want this to continue fearing it may lead to the Dahome people becoming slaves to the empire in due course.
When training a group of new recruits, one young woman by the name of Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) shows a lack of respect for authority despite her outstanding physical performance.
But when Nawi and high-ranking soldier Izogie (Lashana Lynch) are taken as slaves following a battle with the Empire, Nanisca must choose to remain loyal to her king or loyal to her sisters.
Set in 1823, The Woman King is based on the exploits of the Agojie, a group of warrior women from the kingdom of Dahome in West Africa. The Agojie have captured slaves for the Oyo Empire for a number of years, though leader of the warriors, General Nanisca (Viola Davis), does not want this to continue fearing it may lead to the Dahome people becoming slaves to the empire in due course.
When training a group of new recruits, one young woman by the name of Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) shows a lack of respect for authority despite her outstanding physical performance.
But when Nawi and high-ranking soldier Izogie (Lashana Lynch) are taken as slaves following a battle with the Empire, Nanisca must choose to remain loyal to her king or loyal to her sisters.
It’s great to see a film like The Woman King getting the kind of platform it has. A cast and crew consisting predominantly of black women, getting a story a moment in black history on the big screen with a major Hollywood studio behind it. The fact that it exists is great in of itself, but the fact that the film is also genuinely good is but a reason to celebrate it even more.
Best described as a period drama with teeth and a heart, The Woman King not only delivers some powerful action sequences, but the story of Nawi finding herself among the Agojie is also a touching one.
Fantastic performances from Davis and Mbedu anchor the film, and in particular Davis is a powerful presence on screen, whether it be in a dialogue exchange of political tactics or a battle sequence where she is slaying her foes. But for me Lynch stole the show as Nawi’s mentor. She brings a lot of levity to the film, and whilst having that same powerful presence as Davis she also has some great comedic timing.
There was one aspect of the story I felt was completely unnecessary though and that was a romance between Nawi and a Brazilian slave trader, Malik (Jordan Bolger). It felt half-hearted at the best of times, and even then, in a film that holds an anti-slavery message, to have the main character catch feelings for a slaver is the ultimate Pocahontas style gaslighting.
On a side note, Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Malik’s partner Santo Fierra. Unfortunately, Tiffin struggles to retain what I think was supposed to be a Spanish accent for longer than a couple of words at a time, and his performance is extremely stiff. Thankfully he’s not in the film an awful lot, but he stuck out like a sore thumb in a film that was filled with great performances.
Best described as a period drama with teeth and a heart, The Woman King not only delivers some powerful action sequences, but the story of Nawi finding herself among the Agojie is also a touching one.
Fantastic performances from Davis and Mbedu anchor the film, and in particular Davis is a powerful presence on screen, whether it be in a dialogue exchange of political tactics or a battle sequence where she is slaying her foes. But for me Lynch stole the show as Nawi’s mentor. She brings a lot of levity to the film, and whilst having that same powerful presence as Davis she also has some great comedic timing.
There was one aspect of the story I felt was completely unnecessary though and that was a romance between Nawi and a Brazilian slave trader, Malik (Jordan Bolger). It felt half-hearted at the best of times, and even then, in a film that holds an anti-slavery message, to have the main character catch feelings for a slaver is the ultimate Pocahontas style gaslighting.
On a side note, Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Malik’s partner Santo Fierra. Unfortunately, Tiffin struggles to retain what I think was supposed to be a Spanish accent for longer than a couple of words at a time, and his performance is extremely stiff. Thankfully he’s not in the film an awful lot, but he stuck out like a sore thumb in a film that was filled with great performances.
I did love the choreography for the fight sequences, but unfortunately, I often felt as though the cinematography and editing didn’t showcase it to its full potential. Shaky-cam in the style of the Bourne films makes a perplexing return in The Woman King despite having been rightly out of fashion for the best part of a decade now. In conjunction with the choppy editing in action sequences they can at times leave a lot to be desired visually, even if the content itself is satisfying.
Terrence Blanchard’s score is really fantastic though, and it gives the already vibrant visuals so much life. It really amplifies the power of the Agojie and gives the film an undeniable pulse that’ll carry you through from the gripping opening to the satisfying conclusion.
The Woman King finds the right balance between period drama and action film that so many of its kind fail to achieve. Whilst I do feel that this is a film that won’t lose an awful lot in its transition to the small screen when it eventually hits streaming and physical media, but considering what this film represents for black cinema I would highly recommend going to see it at the cinema if it sounds interesting to you to support the artists and send a message to Hollywood that we want to see more of this kind of film.
Terrence Blanchard’s score is really fantastic though, and it gives the already vibrant visuals so much life. It really amplifies the power of the Agojie and gives the film an undeniable pulse that’ll carry you through from the gripping opening to the satisfying conclusion.
The Woman King finds the right balance between period drama and action film that so many of its kind fail to achieve. Whilst I do feel that this is a film that won’t lose an awful lot in its transition to the small screen when it eventually hits streaming and physical media, but considering what this film represents for black cinema I would highly recommend going to see it at the cinema if it sounds interesting to you to support the artists and send a message to Hollywood that we want to see more of this kind of film.