America is split in two in "Queen & Slim," Melina Matsoukas' drama about a black man and woman whose awkward first date becomes a nightmare when one kills a white policeman in self-defense. The act is justifiable, but the black characters know that justice does not exist for them. As they outrun the law, they become both headline news and underground folk heroes _ "The black Bonnie and Clyde," as one man calls them.
"Queen & Slim" feels like a potentially important and possibly incendiary film, driven by a pair of intriguing stars, relative newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith as Queen and Daniel Kaluuya as Slim. (Neither nickname is ever used in the film.) An overall lack of realism and a tendency toward romantic thinking, however, muddle its message. The movie burns with outrage, but its inability to express itself clearly can be maddening.
We're on unsteady ground from the beginning, when our heroes meet at a diner somewhere in Ohio. Slim is an affable type, Queen icy to the point of toxic, and there's no chemistry at all. A routine traffic stop by an aggressive white cop (country singer Sturgill Simpson) leads to a fight over his gun, and Slim kills him. It's Queen _ a lawyer, interestingly _ who argues they should run.
