Femme *** (2023, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, George MacKay, Aaron Heffernan) -– Classic Movie Review 12,790
The 2023 British thriller film Femme is a powerful, disturbing slice of London life starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as a drag performer targeted by thugs in a homophobic attack. Later, he encounters his main attacker (George MacKay) in a gay sauna.
The intense, sexually charged 2023 British thriller film Femme is a powerful, disturbing, if unpleasant and depressing slice of London life starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as drag performer Jules, who is targeted by a group of young thugs in a homophobic attack.
Three months later, he encounters Preston (George MacKay), his main attacker, in a gay sauna. Maybe Jules sees a chance for revenge, but maybe he wants something else. But what does Preston want exactly?
Femme is the debut feature of screenwriter Sam H Freeman and theatre director Ng Choon Ping, who have described themselves as ‘queer creators breaking into a straight space’. It is difficult, challenging material, quite a surprise from BBC Films. There’s a horrible air of foreboding throughout the film, as if something awful is about to happen, and it repeatedly does.
The two actors give the strongest of performances, with Stewart-Jarrett slipping easily in and out of the nuances of his role, though it really is hard to accept MacKay as this totally messed-up London character. MacKay is a very good actor but it is hard for him to express his character’s boiling cauldron of anger, rage, frustration and violence. Ping says: ‘In real life, he’s sweet, so friendly and such a decent guy. He brings an essential sweetness to Preston, which deepens the character.’ This idea actually makes accepting MacKay’s performance and getting a handle on Preston’s character quite difficult.
There is also the slight impression that Stewart-Jarrett at 38 and MacKay at 31 are too old for their characters, and that Freeman and Ping have created an artificial movie world thriller that only plays with the noir genre. But this is only a slight impression.
Freeman and Ping handle their film with great confidence and considerable skill. The film-makers and actors keep the tension mesmerisingly high, but it is never the thriller it seems to suggest it might be. It’s a character study, a much harder sell. There is sex, but the film isn’t at all sexy.
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay won the Best Joint Lead Performance award at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards, Buki Ebiesuwa won Best Costume Design and Marie Deehan won Best Make-Up & Hair Design.
It is a feature-length adaptation of the pair’s 2021 BAFTA-nominated and BIFA-winning short of the same name, starring Paapa Essiedu and Harris Dickinson. The directors decided to recast the roles: ‘We wanted to distance the film from the short. There were new characters and a new story,’ says Freeman.
The cast are Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Jules, George Mackay as Preston, Aaron Heffernan, John McCrea as Toby, Asha Reid as Alicia, Peter Clements, Antonia Clarke as Molly, and Moe Bar-El as Donovan.
It was shot in London in June 2022.
The film premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on 19 February 2023 and was released in the UK on 1 December 2023 by Signature Entertainment.
© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,790
Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com
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