The first look trailer for Queen & Slim has arrived. Written by James Frey (A Million Little Pieces) and Lena Waithe (Master of None, The Chi), the upcoming movie follows a black man and woman (Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith) who're on their first date when they get pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. One thing leads to another, however, and the situation goes horribly off the rails, forcing the man to shoot the police officer who pulled them over in self-defense. Terrified and not knowing what else to do, the pair flee for their lives, unaware that the event has been captured on video and since gone viral.

Queen & Slim marks the feature directorial debut for Melina Matsoukas, a seasoned music video helmer whose previous credits include Beyoncé's "Formation" and "All Night" videos. More recently, she's branched out into television by directing the acclaimed Master of None episode "Thanksgiving" (which Waithe also cowrote), as well as multiple episodes of Insecure and the upcoming Y: The Last Man pilot. Now, thanks to Queen & Slim, Matsoukas is making the leap to the big screen.

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Universal premiered the Queen & Slim First Look at the 2019 BET Awards on Sunday Night, and has since released the trailer online. You can check it out in the space below.

The trailer does a good job of laying out the main thrust of the film; "Queen" (Turner-Smith), a criminal defense lawyer, and "Slim" (Kaluuya), a retail employee, seem to have little in common at first, but discover their shared humanity when what should've been a forgettable first date turns into a life-changing event. Queen & Slim's very synopsis compares the movie to classics like Thelma & Louise, and it's not long before the titular pair become known as "The black Bonnie & Clyde" in the film, either. Kaluuya looks to add another great performance to his body of work here, following his Oscar-nominated turn in Get Out and equally memorable appearances in Black Panther and Widows. Turner-Smith is similarly poised to make a bigger name for herself with Queen & Slim, having previously costarred in TV shows like The Last Ship and Nightflyers.

Naturally, it's too early to say if Queen & Slim will be an awards season contender this fall, but it's certainly something to watch out for. The movie already seems as visually poetic as Matsoukas' previous music videos and TV shows, and its subject matter is about as timely and relevant as it gets these days. Universal currently has the film scheduled to open again Rian Johnson's Knives Out over Thanksgiving, so they clearly expect big things from this one. Hopefully, the final movie result will live up to its potential here.

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Source: Universal Pictures