WATCH: A drag queen plots her revenge in this stylish bathhouse thriller
Femme, one drag queen takes matter into her own finely manicured hands, flipping genre convention on its head.Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits, Generation) stars as Jules, a.k.a Aphrodite Banks, a glamorous queen who’s made quite a name for herself in the London drag scenes.One night, Jules becomes the victim of a hate crime at the hands of a hateful young man named Preston (1917‘s George Mackay), rattled to the point that he’s about to retire Aphrodite Banks for good.However, Jules gets a shock when he runs into Preston at a gay sauna, realizing his attacker was clearly deeply closeted—and that he doesn’t recognize Jules out of drag.It’s then that the gears start turning for Jules.
Before long, he’s infiltrated Preston’s life and discovers the power in “a different kind of drag.” But will this be a story of revenge of redemption?Femme comes from first-time feature directors Sam H.
Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, based off their short film of the same name, which debuted last year at SXSW and was nominated for a BAFTA. (It starred I May Destroy You‘s Paapa Essiedu and Beach Rats‘ Harris Dickinson in the lead roles.)The story sure sounds like it’ll touch on some taboo themes, so we’ll approach with caution.
But the filmmakers maintain the film is all about exploring and exploding “conventional ideas of sexuality, masculinity, patriarchy, and identity.”You won’t be able to look away.
