At the 75th BAFTA Awards, Femme (2021) was nominated for Best British Short Film. It was about a homophobic attack that spiraled out of control. Ironically, it lost to Chevish Oteka's The Black Cop (2021), which was also about homophobia against a Black LGBTQ person. Writers and directors Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping created Femme and went into production on this, their debut feature, not that long after the BAFTA ceremony. Often, when a short film is adapted into a feature, it's either taking the basic story and stretching it out or using the short film as a jumping off point. This feature is based on that Femme short. Freeman and Ping kept the premise but changed the plot for this feature. This might have come with the fact that the two leads are played by two different actors. Those actors were rewarded with Best Joint Lead Performance at the 26th British Independent Film Awards or BIFA. The feature was in the top ten of nominees with 11 BIFA nominations.
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Candyman and Misfits) is one of those BIFA winners who stars as Jules, a Black drag queen whose alter ego is "Aphrodite." He performs regularly at a gay bar named Phallacy. Jules is obviously gay, but when he wants to do so, he can do what was called "straight acting" or what some might call "code-switching" where his voice gets deeper and his manner of speech changes, as well as his body language and posture adjusts to hide his homosexuality. Even though Aphrodite involves him putting on a lot of makeup, long braids, bright colorful clothes and being more effeminate, he considers Aphrodite to be his real or true self and not his "Jules" identity.
George MacKay (1917 and Defiance) co-stars as Preston Frears, a drug dealer who starts out as a closeted thug on the streets who rises to become a fairly wealthy young man in a short amount of time. He has a bad temper where he can snap pretty easily. This temper is triggered by the fact that he is closeted. He's gay or has strong same-sex attraction, but he keeps that secret from his friends and likely family. It seems as if his friends are homophobic and wouldn't accept him if he came out. His drug dealing career also seems linked to these friends, so keeping his secret feels somewhat linked to his livelihood and wealth.
However, as Jules does drag putting on a female persona, it's revealed that Preston might also be doing drag. His drag might be putting on his thug persona, this uber-masculine posture that wants people to be intimidated or believe him to be a big man or a hard man. This is what Freeman and Ping's narrative plays with. It plays with this idea of identity and drag. It's actually an idea that RuPaul Charles, one of the most famous drag queens in the world, originated. Most people think of drag queens on a stage in a gay bar somewhere. Yet, anyone anywhere can do drag to one degree or another.
One thing that the film wants us to consider is why people do drag. For RuPaul and most drag performers in that vein, they do drag as a joyous or celebratory expression of who one is inside. For others, they do drag as a means of protection or a way of projecting confidence and strength. It could be a means of survival or the ability to do something one couldn't do otherwise. It's exemplified in a video game scene where Jules plays Street Fighter with Preston's friends and he does so as the female character of Chun Li. For others still, it could be what one character describes as frustration, confusion and a sprinkling of self-loathing.
The short film was essentially a thriller that involved a murder or an accidental homicide. It was basically about whether a character can escape from a possible crime and the repercussions from it. This feature is essentially a revenge drama where one character is trying to get retribution against another. It's also possibly the first time where the filmmakers want us to be on the side of someone trying to create and propagate revenge porn.
Speaking of which, this film features porn depicted or some graphic sexuality. This includes some depiction of BDSM. It's not like the chains and whips implied in something like Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). Its BDSM goes to the fundamental role-playing aspect where one person is the dominant and the other is the submissive. What's brilliant is how we see that role-playing from Jules and Preston, as well as how their initial roles get reversed. Stewart-Jarrett and MacKay's wins at BIFA were absolutely justified.
If one wants to see more incredible performances from MacKay in particular, check out For Those in Peril (2014) and Pride (2014).
Not Rated but contains sexuality and nudity.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 38 mins.
Available on VOD.