Shoplifters is one repetitive scene after another. They eat, a woman cooks, they eat some more, somebody cooks. Repeat. Repeat again. Family members teach the children how to shoplift for food. The adults work at part-time jobs, get laid off. Finally, close to the end, the script and scenes change in quick metamorphosis, but shoplifting continues with the revelation that stealing includes all kinds of nourishment.
This is another of those films the critics love (and give it a 99% score at Rotten Tomatoes: audience rating: 90%). It is about the underclass in Japan which may explain the high rating. Save your money and your time. It lacks depth, versatility, and plot. Not much here. It's no wonder the birth rate in Japan is low.
Widows on the other hand is zowee action from the get-go! (Attention: Tina and Matt: You will definitely not like Shoplifters, but I'll wager that Widows will keep your attention.) It's a great story with terrific acting, including the knockout (!) performance by Cynthia Erivo. (Viola Davis and Liam Neeson ain't too bad either, and could Elizabeth Debicki really be that tall? I kept thinking that, maybe, she was standing on stilts or something, but I checked the Internet, which is always right, and she is 6' 2" or 6'3"! [Two answers.] Yowsers! Did she play basketball in Australia? I have derailed.)
I don't have to describe the plot, right? Four women who are widowed take it upon themselves to learn the craft and practice what their husbands practiced.
It's not a "chick flick," as might be expected, but men will like it, too, with the blood, gore, sex (natch), obligatory breasts, bad words, and a hot spot plot.
Dear Mr. McQueen (the director and co-writer with Gillian Flynn): You've got a winner. Congrats! (Critics: 90%; audience, 63%. The audience doesn't always get it right.)
That's entertainment!
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