Film Review - The Woman King
Images courtesy of Sony Pictures Publicity Australia.
From the moment a fighting force of steely, muscular Black women rise from the tall grass in the opening scene of The Woman King, liberating a group of kidnapped women and laying waste to the slavers who captured them, director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s ambition is clear: this is an action epic. The women are the Agojie, an elite all-female regiment of warriors in the West African kingdom of Dahomey in 1823. To wit, The Woman King is a modern entry into a particular historical subgenre of action filmmaking that hasn’t seen true glory since the 90s and 2000s: it feels like a new Gladiator, or Braveheart, or The Last of the Mohicans. The sequence is every bit as commanding as those films were: the action is brutal and gripping, with each sword-strike or body blow given immense weight in the sound mix, and the incredibly committed cast (and undoubtedly the stunt team!) selling all of the choreography with aplomb.
Leading them is Viola Davis, who finds wonderful expressiveness within her Agojie-leader character’s stoicism, and who is giving a star performance that is remarkably generous: she does not have a monopoly on the highlights of the film. In a movie packed with get-up-and-cheer moments, many of them go to Thuso Mbedu, whose young, tremendously empathetic character Nawi is the audience-surrogate learning the ways of the Agojie. Likewise, the performance that may well steal the film is that of Lashana Lynch, who gets to make far more of an impression here than she did in either No Time to Die or Captain Marvel – her Izogie, a senior warrior in the Agojie, is such a winningly cool mentor for Nawi: a knowing, vaguely mischievous older-sister type who exudes not just endless charisma but a deep care for, and fierce protection of, her sisters-in-arms.
The Agojie, as a unit, are all discipline and commitment – their formidability comes from their gruelling training and, crucially, their unity. Indeed, many of the best fist-pumping moments of action are two of these women landing some kind of two-person combo move in battle. It’s never verbalised, but the dynamic the film finds here is a fantastic, refreshing form of action-hero femininity that’s leagues more sophisticated than any sexy-badass or tough-as-the-boys archetype: emotionally-rooted, intelligent female comradeship. This careful tonal feat means that you can have your cake (a woman with an enormous machete-sword taking on three opponents and screaming primally) and eat it too (witnessing the way they train, and the values they are taught).
Importantly, the action does not subsume all else. Prince-Bythewood is equally interested in the emotional and psychological realities of violent warfare, and the political intricacy of the slave trade – though the latter is where the film’s ambition gets away from it. Historical critiques of the film have centred around Dahomey’s relationship to slavery, which is positioned here as relatively – perhaps even heroically – abolitionist, as they battle the slavers of the neighbouring Oyo Empire. The truth, it seems, is uglier: suffice to say this characterisation, and particularly the film’s ending, is historically suspect – and certainly worthy of interrogation (perhaps by more informed, better-positioned minds than my own). Admittedly, there is no “based on a true story” titlecard here. But you’re forced to wonder why the Agojie couldn’t have been crusading against colonial oppressors or some other enemy: that the fulcrum of the film’s historical agenda be moralistic, and falsely so, is clearly the frustration of its critics.
Nonetheless, this is a rare American film fixated on capturing & exploring the lived reality of a non-Western culture. The systems of alternating warfare, diplomacy, tributes and gifts between various African kingdoms and Colonists makes for fascinating world-building, and that it all takes place in lavishly colourful costuming and atmospheric sets (that bathhouse!) only adds to how involving this all is. It’s a smart crowd pleaser! Gina Prince-Bythewood has always made films about chosen families, adoption, and the all-consuming commitment to a calling; all of which are present here and elevate the storytelling. This is a film that transports you to an entirely different world of warrior culture and thrilling battles, just as your Last of the Mohicans etc. did, but it’s far from pure escapism. The real achievement of this ripping action flick, bless its existence, is its characters and themes: there’s a full meal here, and all of it is delicious.
The Woman King is screening in cinemas from Thursday 27th October. For tickets and more info, click here.