Widows Review: 6 Ups & 3 Downs

Ups...

6. Viola Davis' Oscar-Worthy Performance

Shocker! Viola Davis gives one of the best performances of the year here, helping to significantly elevate the movie beyond some of its more frustrating dramatic excesses.

As a bereaved woman desperate to win her freedom, her Veronica Rawlins is one of the year's most compelling and driven female characters, with Davis proving an utter force-of-nature every time she's on screen.

Though Davis will probably get pipped to the Best Actress Oscar by either Lady Gaga (A Star is Born) or Glenn Close (The Wife), there's virtually no chance she won't scoop her fourth nomination here, and rightly so.

It's definitely a shame she doesn't have more restrained material to work with, but you certainly can't fault the actress for doing her level best to class it up.