The Woman King

THE WOMAN KING   **1/2

Gina Prince-Bythewood

2022

IDEA:  In 1820s West Africa, a young orphaned woman trains to become a warrior with the Agojie, an elite all-female battalion fighting for the Kingdom of Dahomey.

BLURB:  Such is the incremental yet steady march of social progress that it might not dawn on the viewer how uncommon The Woman King is, or how improbable it would have seemed not that long ago. Here is a big-budget Hollywood historical action epic helmed by a black woman with black women occupying all the main action roles, and most of the other roles, as well. It’s a film that illuminates, even through its fair share of factual distortions, sides of African history, culture, and geopolitics that rarely appear, let alone act as the subjects of, major American studio releases. This is not to suggest that The Woman King should be evaluated wholly based on the relative scarceness of stories like it, or that its import as such should shield it from criticism. Despite the fresh subject matter, the film remains highly traditional at the script level, committed as it is to banal “let’s-go-to-battle” and family melodrama idioms. Visually, it lacks the grandeur of its genre forebears; the costumes and sets are lush, but the flat digital lensing and choppily edited action scenes leave something to be desired. That last point is ironic considering The Woman King’s emphasis on ferocious women warriors and their combat prowess. While Prince-Bythewood certainly leans hard on the physical badassery, the film is more satisfying as a portrait of sisterhood, a celebration of the community solidarity that’s no less integral than brute strength in making the Agojie a force to be reckoned with. In the quiet, intimate moments shared between Nawi (a fantastic Thuso Mbedu), Nanisca, Izogie, and others, The Woman King rises above its more rote trappings to prove its mettle.