In Steve McQueen’s thriller Widows, a group of armed robbers die during a heist, and to settle their debts, the grieving wives plan a heist of their own, and the Widows‘ ending explained that they successfully pulled off the job. Veronica Rawlings (Viola Davis) even ensures that no one will come after them for the money they stole. Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) join Veronica on the heist.
Alice is struggling to find a new way of earning a living after her abusive husband Florek (Jon Bernthal) is killed in the robbery, and Linda discovers that her late husband gambled away everything they had, resulting in repo men taking everything in her store. Belle is Linda’s babysitter, struggling to make ends meet, but tough and fast enough to be a vital part of the crew. This leads these inexperienced, but determined women into action to pull off a robbery that will ensure they don’t fall after their husbands’ deaths.
What Happens At The End Of Widows?
How Did The Widows Accomplish The Robbery?
The heist itself starts fairly smoothly. Veronica and Belle did reconnaissance before the robbery to learn the layout of the house and its security. The widows approach the back entrance and tap on the door to call the security guard. However, before they can reach the hidden vault behind the map, they are confronted by Tom Mulligan (Robert Duvall), who points a gun at them and removes Veronica’s mask. Tom shoots Alice in the shoulder and is shot and killed in return.
The crew then presses onto the vault, packs all the money into the bags, and runs out to the van — only to find Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya) waiting for them with a gun to Belle’s head. Jatemme takes off with the money, but his victory is short-lived.
The widows goes after him in a car and run into the back of his van, causing him to swerve and crash into a concrete barrier at high speed. He dies instantly, and the women grab the money and run. Linda takes Alice to the hospital, telling the doctors that she was shot in a drive-by, and Belle takes off as well.
Veronica plants the gun used to shoot Tom Mulligan on Harry and then makes her getaway.
Veronica returns to the garage where Harry is waiting for her. She confronts Harry about the affair with Amanda and his newborn son. Harry tells her that he can’t stay with her after their son, Marcus (Josiah Sheffie), was killed by a cop at a traffic stop and that he wants to build a new life for himself. He demands that Veronica turn over the money, and attacks her when she refuses — but then Veronica shoots and kills him. She plants the gun used to shoot Tom Mulligan on Harry and then makes her getaway.
As the movie ends, the widows have each gone their separate ways with their share of the money, now able to make new lives without the financial support of their husbands.
How (And Why) Harry Rawlings Faked His Death In Widows
Harry Made A Deal With A Politician
Before the heist takes place, Widows reveals its big twist: that Veronica’s husband, Harry (Liam Neeson) didn’t actually die along with the rest of his crew, but set them up to be killed by the cops and faked his death — with a little help from corrupt politician-to-be Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell). When Veronica arrives at the house of one of the other widows, Amanda Nunn (Carrie Coon), to try and recruit her as a driver, Veronica’s dog runs down the hallway and starts whining and scratching at one of the doors.
Veronica follows the dog and finds Harry’s drinking flask on a table in the hall. Realizing that Harry must have been having an affair with Amanda and that Amanda’s newborn baby is Harry’s, Veronica becomes upset and leaves the house — without discovering that Harry himself is behind the door. As Harry reveals in his emotional final confrontation with Veronica, the death of their son pushed him away from their marriage and towards the hope of starting a new life and a new family with Amanda.
Harry arranged explosive tanks around the van and walked away right before the garage door opened.
To accomplish this, he cut a deal with Jack Mulligan to rob $2 million from Jamal Manning’s campaign funds, in exchange for help in faking his death. Jack used his connections at the coroner’s office to obtain a dead body, which was set up in the front seat of the second van. After the three other men had been loaded into the back, Harry arranged explosive tanks around the van and walked away right before the garage door opened. The van was pulverized by bullets and exploded. The remains of four bodies were left behind — enough to convince the world that Harry was dead.
How The Widows Get Away With the Robbery
The Widows Have Harry To Thank For Their Good Fortune
Harry’s faking his death proves to be rather lucky for Veronica since it offers a way for her to ensure no one will suspect her or the other women in the robbery. After killing Harry in the garage, she leaves behind the gun that was used to shoot Tom Mulligan close to Harry’s hand — thereby setting him up to take the blame for the crime. Once his body is discovered, everyone (including Jack Mulligan) will assume that Harry faked his death and to return for one more heist, since the gun forensics will link him to Tom Mulligan’s murder.
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The women used masks, heavy clothing, and voice-changing tech to conceal their gender. No one would have any reason to suspect a group of grieving widows. There is the lingering question of whether Jatemme kept Jamal up to speed on what he learned while following the widows since Jatemme figured out that they were planning the heist. However, the general impression is that Jatemme is acting alone, whether because he wants the money for himself or to surprise Jamal by delivering it.
How Jack Mulligan Got Elected At The End of Widows
Jack’s Dad Dying Helped Him Win The Election
Though Jamal Manning delivers a powerful speech during his debate with Jack Mulligan, Jack is successfully elected Alderman of the 18th Ward. This is a mixed victory, however, as towards the end of the movie, it becomes clear that Jack doesn’t want the position, and was pushed towards it by his father. Somewhat fittingly, it’s Tom Mulligan who seals the deal for his son, since his death during the robbery fuels public sympathy for Jack and earns him the extra votes that he needs to win the election.
What Happens To The Women After Widows’ Heist
The Women Have Enough Money To Start Anew
Assuming that Veronica still decides to pay back Jamal Manning the $2 million that Harry stole, each of the widows walks away from the heist with around $750,000 each. Linda uses the money to reopen her business and care for her family. Cynthia leaves cash for her boss at the salon to get her out from under Jack Mulligan’s thumb and then leaves with her daughter. Alice no longer works as an escort and is free to build a life for herself. Veronica no longer has to worry about losing her home and faces a future she can control.
What The Final Scene Of Widows Means For Veronica
Veronica Realized The Importance Of The Widows
During the lead-up to the heist, Veronica says the widows will never see each other again once they have the money. This doesn’t last long, as Veronica and Alice end up at the same restaurant in the aftermath of the robbery, and make eye contact across the room. At first, it seems as though Veronica will stay true to her word and pretend she didn’t even see Alice, but then she changes her mind, follows Alice outside, and calls her back — asking how she’s been.
It is a satisfying conclusion to their journey of empowerment.
This is significant for a couple of reasons. The first is that the “rules” of the heist Veronica follows throughout the movie are her husband’s rules, and Veronica learns Harry isn’t the man she thought he was. By reaching out to Alice after the heist, Veronica dismisses the rules their husbands followed, an indication Veronica has moved on and is ready to make her own rules. That doesn’t mean Veronica and Alice will commit more crimes together, but it is a satisfying conclusion to their journey of empowerment.
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It also symbolizes Veronica reaching out to make a friend. She’s a woman who has lost everything: first her son, then her husband, and then her husband all over again. The heist has gotten Jamal Manning off her back, and she’s got enough money to be comfortable and make a life for herself — but she still has to build new connections. Reaching out to Alice, of everyone in the crew, is also a particularly poignant choice, since Alice is the least tough and hard-edged member, yet, in her, Veronica recognizes a kindred spirit.
The Meaning Of The Widows Ending
Veronica Smiles Because She Is Free From Her Abusive Marriage
The entire message of Widow is that the women in this movie have all endured abusive relationships. Alice’s husband beats her, Belle has almost no options in her life, and Veronica has it the worst. Her husband was willing to fake his own death to get out of his marriage, allowing her to grieve for him, while not caring enough about her to even attempt to end things respectfully. When she learns he’s alive, he is willing to kill her to keep his chance at a new life, eliminating her self-worth completely.
This leads to Widows‘ last moment: Veronica’s smile when she reaches out to Alice to accept as a friend. She has no reason to smile, as her life was destroyed and turned upside down by her husband. Veronica kills Harry, not just physically, but the idea of him. Eliminating him from her life and from her thoughts, Veronica can now live for herself. This is her first time to smile in Widows and that shows she can finally start living once again.
How The Widows Ending Was Received
Critics Loved The Movie More Than Audience Members
The reviews for Widows were fantastic, with a high 91% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience score was much lower, at 61%. When looking at what the separation was with the viewers, one audience review read, “It’s a heist movie where the heist doesn’t happen until the very end, is very quick, and isn’t very interesting. Add in a bunch of plot conveniences and the movie just wasn’t very good.” However, critic Stephenie Zacharek of TIME had a different opinion of the film:
“The women of Widows get things done not because they buy “You can do anything!” bathroom-mirror bromides, but because they don’t. They have to sell the idea of self-confidence to themselves, because that’s mostly how self-confidence works; it’s a self-renewing resource, not a fountain with an autopump.”
When it comes to the Widow’s ending, a Reddit thread called it “one of the most emotionally devastating heist movies I’ve ever watched.” The OP wrote, “Widows has left me a disheveled shell of my former self. And that is all Steve McQueen’s focused direction, Gillian Flynns superb screenplay, and what I’m gonna say is Viola Davis’ greatest performance ever put to put to screen. The results are both exceptionally thrilling and gut wrenching.“
Widows
9/10
- Release Date
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November 16, 2018
- Runtime
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130 Minutes
