Movies And Specials: Widows

Synopsis: "Widows" tells the story of three women whose husbands are killed in the midst of attempting a major art heist. The men were trying to steal a priceless Vermeer that had already been stolen ten years earlier, in the famous robbery of Boston's Gardner Museum. These wildly different women - Dolly Rawlins, an upper-middle-class housewife (Ms. Ruehl, Academy Award-winner for "The Fisher King," Tony Award-winner for "Lost In Yonkers"), Linda Pirelli, a used-car dealership employee (Ms. Perez, "Fearless," "The Road to El Dorado"), and Shirley Heller, a low-rent actress (Ms. Shields, "Suddenly Susan") -- join forces with Bella, an exotic dancer (Ms. Wright, "Blade") -- whose missing boyfriend may have also been involved in the caper -- to find the killer and finish the job the men botched.

Tuesday, Aug. 6 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) - In Part I, explosions rip through a truck carrying four men planning to switch a fake Vermeer with the real masterpiece locked inside Stein's Art Gallery. As Dolly, Linda and Shirley learn of their husbands' horrifying demise, the police attempt to identify the three charred bodies they found at the crime scene. Meanwhile, a grief-stricken Dolly discovers both her home and antique store have been ransacked. As Lt. Maynard continues his investigation of the attempted heist, focusing on Arnold Stein and Dolly's husband, Harry Rawlins, Dolly makes a shocking discovery after viewing a video tape left in her safety deposit box.

Tuesday, Aug. 13 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) - Dolly shares her astonishing secret video with Linda and Shirley: It reveals the perpetrators of the infamous Gardner Museum heist, in which a number of valuable masterpieces were stolen. Bella recognizes detective Mike Resnick on the video as one of the criminals, and Dolly arranges a meeting with him. She demands information from Resnick on who killed her husband, Harry, in the busted robbery attempt -- in exchange for the tape. Resnick only explains that all the masterpieces from the original robbery were destroyed, according to Harry, except for the Vermeer. Arnold Stein orders Resnick to "silence" Dolly. Meanwhile, a terrified Resnick must beg for his own life, and the three women join Dolly in her plan to simultaneously avenge Harry's death and steal the priceless Vermeer from the Stein Gallery, returning it to the museum for the multimillion-dollar reward.

Tuesday, Aug. 20 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) -- As the four women continue to plan the heist of the Vermeer, they make a grisly discovery. Bella is attacked by a mysterious man in Dolly's house. Meanwhile, Dolly remakes Bella, the exotic dancer, into an art dealer as part of their ruse to check out the Stein Gallery surveillance system. The police, led by Lieutenant Maynard, are hot on Dolly's trail, determined that she knows where the museum's stolen art is located. On a trial run, Bella succeeds in talking her way into the gallery's vault where the Vermeer is kept, but the security system proves airtight. Dolly finally admits defeat and the women part ways.

Tuesday, Aug. 27 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) - In the fourth and final part of "Widows," Dolly uncovers the shocking truth surrounding her husband's murder and the long-unsolved mystery of the Gardner Museum robbery. She develops a plan to beat the security system at Stein's Gallery to steal the Vermeer. The women, empowered with their newfound sense of confidence and fueled by revenge, take on the challenge of their lives as they risk everything to grab the masterpiece and a new lease on life.

The Cast:
Mercedes Ruehl as Dolly Rawlins
Brooke Shields as Shirley Heller
Rosie Perez as Linda Pirelli
N'bushe Wright as Bella
Nigel Bennett as Harry Rawlins
Michael Rhoades as Jimmy Rawlins
Jay O. Sanders as Lieutenant Maynard
Aidan Devine as Mike Resnick
Jenna Stern as Sara Sellick
Jonathan Higgins as Sgt. Hodges
Kedar Brown as Detective Dexter
Jayne Eastwood as Audrey, Colm Feore as Arnold Stein, Rod Wilson as Rudi Sellick
Bobby Johnston as Terry Heller
Roman Rodhora as Joe Pirelli

Production Credits:
Widows" is directed by Geoffrey Sax from the script by Lynda La Plante, who wrote the original hit British miniseries. Ms. La Plante and Kenneth Kaufman are the executive producers. The producer is Clara George. The movie is from ABC-Greengrass Productions and La Plante Productions.

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