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One consistent gripe that I tend to have with movies that claim to be representative of minorities is still their tendency to treat them in a patronizingly affected way. That because of their status not only as a minority of the population, but also a minority of the film landscape, there’s a sentimentality that needs to be applied in their depiction, that they cannot exist in the same kind of world that straight white men do. That is namely, a mean and dark world. Femme is refreshing in its ire and peril. It of course maintains the idea of feeling unsafe as a gay man in the presence of a bigoted world of straight people, but its gay characters are not timid victims, they’re resolutely angry and violent in their own right.
An Angry Quiet Relationship
Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarret), a drag performer in London is assaulted by a group of several young men, one of whom, Preston (George McKay), is a closeted homosexual who was checking out Jules outside of a club earlier in the night. Jules seeks vengeance and the clearest way to get it is through Preston. But Preston is dangerous, violent, and angry.
source: Signature Entertainment
He flies off the handle and has to maintain his fake straight persona for his friends. Directors Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping maintain a camera that invades the close spaces of its characters, delivering an intense feeling of being seen or revealed at all times. The entire film hinges on a single secret and each moment you feel like Jules could let it all out in a moments notice. He even coyly threatens to do so during one sequence where he beats Preston’s friends in a game of Street Fighter, playing as Chun-Li.
Ignition of Masculinity
The sexuality in the film has a carnal nature to it, exacerbated not only by need to sneak around, but also by the role-playing and constant ignition of masculinity. This is what separates Femme from most films about gay relationships that have come out recently. It doesn’t see masculinity as an incongruity between hetero and homosexuality, but existing equally in all its forcefulness within both. Jules is a drag performer, but this is a relationship between men and Jules can almost ignite his own masculinity in times of desperation. He flips roles in Preston at one point, playing the dominant partner in the relationship and gives the character and the dynamics in the film a cunning level of depth.
source: Signature Entertainment
Conclusion
Femme is both mean and tender, displaying how sexuality and secrets can keep ones real self in violent confrontation with one’s masked self. Nathan Stewart-Jarret and George McKay both display equal level of brooding and hulking anger and moments of deep vulnerability in their characters. The dynamic between the two is paramount in the film to being compelling and every moment between them feels like a match being lit next to a flammable object.
Femme had a limited release in theaters in the U.S. on March 22nd, 2024.
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