A gritty crime thriller combining explosive action and social commentary in a story about four women bank robbers from a housing project in L.A, Set It Off has recently been cited as one of the inspirations for Steve McQueen’s Widows and viewed as a key document in black feminist cinema. Queen Latifah – who also appears briefly in Juice – is superb in her breakthrough acting role as Cleo, a boisterous lesbian with a penchant for classic cars and a desire to do right by her co-conspirators.
Set it Off follows the story of Frankie (Vivica A. Fox) a bank worker recently fired from her job who begins working at a janitorial service with her friends Tisean (Kimberly Elise), Cleo (Queen Latifah) and Stony (Jada Pinkett). All of the women are struggling with their financial positions and decide to begin a spree of bank robberies. At first the group is successful, but they soon attract the attention of an obsessive detective (John C. McGinley).