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| Image Courtesy Utopia |
The most recent film I couldn’t stop from squirming in my seat was watching Femme (2023), a queer story about revenge, evolving roles, and violence lurking just around the corner.
Viewers feel the tension as Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) runs out of cigarettes after performing in a drag show and looks worriedly down a dark street towards a bodega. The distance isn’t far, but Jules is fully in drag as Aphrodite. A brief confrontation in the bodega leads to Aphrodite being brutally beaten by Preston (a tattooed-up George McKay).
While the film is a masterclass in suspense and tension, it is a hard watch. Aphrodite’s attack is brief, but no less torturous. This remains a nightmare come to life for any queer person who’s ever felt unsafe or been attacked themselves.
Months later, Jules has stopped performing and become reclusive. But one night at a gay bathhouse, he sees Preston angrily refusing advances from another man. Jules follows him to the locker room and realizes that Preston doesn’t recognize him out of drag. This revelation that Preston might be closeted emboldens Jules enough to overcome his previous trauma and leave with his attacker.
And so begins the twisty and layered revenge story by writing and directing team Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, Based on the duo’s short film, this feature-length film explores masculinity and performance while also becoming a picture of queer resilience. But this revenge story becomes much more complex and dark. It defies genre boundaries and easy answers while remaining extremely hard to watch.
Jules’ and Preston’s transformation through the film is fascinating, as both their roles and personas evolve. Jules’ revenge plan begins to form the more he learns about Preston, including how the drag artist needs to perform to make it happen. Preston, a hot-headed drug dealer, becomes more complex as the film progresses, but remains capable of violence when provoked.
Every scene with McKay and Stewart-Jarrett feels like a runaway car careening down a hill. Both actors excel with their complex characters as revenge gets messy. The tension and danger continuously escalate as Jules finds his performative power and Preston finds new roles to play. Their relationship becomes viscerally sexual, but never safe or happy. The viewer will be simultaneously excited and afraid for Jules as his plan gets complicated and an inevitable confrontation looms.
Femme will be a mesmerizing watch for some, but also an endurance test for others. The layered story and explorations of issues of queerness and masculinity are artfully portrayed on screen, but the looming threat of violence is enough to make even hardened film fans squirm.
- Eric Beach