Femme

Queer movies have been hit and miss recently as they always engage in the caricature of romanticizing the pains between the queer one and the closeted one.

Femme had all the chances of ending in the déjà vu world of sad gay movies but it does the opposite.

By showing incredibly realistic characters, with their emotional anxieties and doubts evolving in real time, by building an insane level of tension and ambiguity, Femme manages the impossible. It resets the queer love story to new highs. There are no arty effects, artificial pose, comfortable moments. This is a drama where love tries to find a place in mountains of pain.

At the center is identity and where each of us fits in defining our queer sensibility. I particularly loved the moments where the closeted one tries to create casual and romantic moments the way his mind can accept it. It's groundbreaking.

Difficult to watch but absolutely outstanding.

I sat watching this after a heavy meal in the evening and had been afraid I might have dropped off. Not a chance. The writing and direction, let alone the two main characters, kept the tension high all the time. An hour and forty minutes seemed to speed by.

I'd been worried that I might not get into the film as the world of drag and effeminacy is not mine. However the brilliance of the acting swept all such doubts aside as Jules and Preston developed their affair.

This isn't a simple revenge film. There's more to it than that and the film starts to delve into real feelings that the two lovers develop for each other.

The ending is bleak but leaves enough scope for hope. I recommend this film.

Adapted from an award winning short film of the same name, this follows the path of Jules (Nathan Stewart Jarrett), who after an horrific homophobic attack is drawn into the world of Preston (George Mackay) one of his assailants for revenge, or maybe not. Preston and his circle inhabit a different lifestyle of criminality and underlying violence which imbues this film with almost unbearable tension and we fear for Jules all the time. We are surprised by the availability of every kind of gay porn to access or contribute to, which could also be used as a weapon to destroy someone's life. The dialogue is authentic and compelling throughout and holds our interest until the scary climax. All the actors are excellent especially the two main guys.

This film is an uncomfortable watch but quite brilliant for it. An exceptionally well acted study in identity and the effects of of revenge.

The difficult subjects are not avoided and the pace and then the sudden switch of roles leaves us with no doubt about the toxicity that can surround role play and identity when it's just projection. Excellent piece of film work for all concerned.

The acting is superb. I don't recognise anybody from any other work safe for a very brief cameo by Nima Teleghani, who is an actor I have seen on stage (and in Heartstopper.)

I also saw the lead, George Mackay interviewed about the role and the film maker's intentions and he was absolutely invested in the theme and his performance. Excellent acting from the other lead, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Both bound for brilliant bright futures.

Femme is a psychosexual thriller that's unbearably tense from the get go. A tale of revenge and repression that barely gives itself a minute to breathe. Every scenario and encounter is filled with a growing sense of dread which culminates in an explosive confrontation that's terrifying.

The power play between Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay is incredible to witness. As it progresses Nathan Stewart-Jarrett goes from being uneasy and uncomfortable to having real power over George MacKay, who starts off absolutely terrifying and becomes more self conscious in the later moments.

Debuting directors and writers Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping announce themselves with a heavy film that depicts its violence in an unflinching fashion and has a power play that's suitably sexually charged. It's all helped by Adam Janota Bzowski's score which is always present at the right moment.