The Woman King

The Woman King is a grand epic with a commanding lead performance from Viola Davis, some surprisingly intense action scenes for a PG-13-rated action film (though obviously censored and bloodless to earn that rating), and a strong visual style from director Gina Prince-Bythewood.  Even if the script does get loaded down with a bit too much plot, this is still a great entertainment.

The film is inspired by the real-life female warriors of the African kingdom of Dahomey, known as the Agojie.  Davis is their battle-hardened leader, Nanisca, who trains the women of her tribe, as well as women captured from other tribes, in the ways of battle.  Set in West Africa of 1823, we learn that Dahomey is at odds with the rival kingdom of Oyo, who have more advanced weapons.  The Agojie fought alongside the men in battles against the Oyo, and were some of the most respected members of the kingdom.  Despite the respect the female warriors hold within Dahomey, we learn that some women within the kingdom are still looked down upon, which brings us to our other heroine Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), who as the film opens is being offered up to a wealthy man in marriage by her father, but she rejects being a wife to a man who is cruel to her.

Her father sees this as an insult, and sends Nawi to King Ghezo (John Boyega), where she is given the chance to join the Agojie.  During her training, Nawi finds herself often at odds with General Nanisca, but also bonds with some of her other hopefuls, as well as with the noble warrior Izogie (Lashana Lynch).  There is definitely a theme of bonding as Nawi finds her place with the other hopefuls, and the Agojie who are training her for battle.  Meanwhile, there is some political intrigue, as both the Dahomey and the Ovo kingdoms rely on slave trade for wealth, having sold their prisoners to traders from Europe.  It's true that the screenplay by Dana Stevens does simplify things a bit too neatly when it covers this topic.  Despite their participation in the slave industry, the Dahomey are clearly the ones we're supposed to be rooting for, and the movie kind of brushes over this fact, and never really explores it like it should.

Instead, The Woman King wants to be a crowd-pleaser, and it succeeds on that level.  I just couldn't help but picture a more interesting movie that truly dived into the tricky morals that the script brings up, but does not explore very deeply.  Instead, the movie buries itself in a lot of melodrama and plots straight out of a soap opera, with Nanisca having a secret that might be connected to the past of one of the other women fighting alongside her, and Nawi having a potential romance with a young European man who grows to respect her.  It's very cut and dry, as the Dahomey are depicted as good and pure, while all the rival tribes are snarling murderers and rapists.  This kind of simplistic plotting is the only thing that turned me off.  I can understand it was done to attract as large an audience as possible, but this could have been so much more challenging.

With a running time of 135 minutes, the movie could have definitely used some trimming, and starts to feel bloated near the end, but that does not take away from why this movie still works, which is because of the performances, the well-staged action, and the sense of relationships that it creates among the Agojie warriors.  While these are not complex characters, they are given different sides to display, and are not just jaded female warriors out of a fanboy magazine.  They are compassionate, supportive, and it creates a likable sense of a sort of family throughout the film as we watch these women bond on and off the battlefield.

All of this comes through in the performances, especially from Davis, Mbedu, and Lynch.  There is a human quality to these characters that we don't get to see in a lot of action films, and their relationships (which range from open and patient, to more guarded) emphasizes this.  Not only are they human in how they interact with each other, but also when they are fighting.  Not once do these women come across as unstoppable superheroes.  In a current cinematic landscape that favors CG and digital effects for battle, these action scenes feel authentic, raw, and quite intense.  It's refreshing to see battles that actually sell the hardships and pain, not just showing off some cool stunts.  The training scenes are equally real.

My only gripe with The Woman King is that I wish it focused a bit less on the market tested plot elements, and a bit more on the tricky politics of the kingdom that it touches on, but never explores as deeply as it should.  That said, in terms of spectacle, action, and performances, it seldom gets better.

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