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Stars: George MacKay, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Director: Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping
Distributor: Signature Entertainment

“You’re letting them win.”

Stylish, seductive, and intense, Femme is the latest hit from Signature Entertainment.

Opening with the fine-tuned and dazzling spectacle of Jules’ (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) drag performance, the beauty is quickly turned on its head with a gritty scope into reality where Jules falls victim to a brutally vicious homophobic attack. 

Devastated and destroyed by the attack, Jules no longer performs. He exists within a stasis of nothingness as their trauma has taken over. However, when roaming a gay sauna, Jules lays eyes upon Preston (George MacKay): the ringleader behind the scathing attack. Preston, aggressively in denial of his gay feelings, eventually succumbs to his masculine desire and forms a romance with Jules. What could go wrong? 

With so much at stake, everything ranging from identity, sexuality, agency, and even revenge, Femme is prone to not knowing how it wants to definitively exist. Therefore, some actions and turns may seem somewhat amiss and underwhelming, whereas some elements and scenes are better executed, and present an unease for the viewer. 

The varieties in performance brought by its two leads, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay, are successful in both connecting and distorting the viewer to Femme. Their actions, their emotions, their developments, continually attract attention, but only to deceive or shock on an occasional basis. However, there can be a lack of clarity, and the overly hardman image of MacKay can only be overdone so far before it becomes an unwanted distraction. 

With tension, Femme can be excellent. In itself, the tension is a spectacle. Not quite to the alleged levels in Uncut Gems, but especially towards the climax of Femme, the tension of what could happen is an unreal experience. Throughout the film, a spectacle is managed to be established out of either the glamour or the grit. Numerous sex scenes present such a ferocious intensity, Femme establishes itself with an often untouchable raw feel. The beauty of a fledgling romance, whilst existing as aggressively contrasting figures within the LGBTQ+ community, is one example of balancing the glamour and grit.

Whilst obviously good, there is a feel that Femme could have delved further into its contexts and elements. For a film so good, there is that feeling that something is missing. Yet, director-writer tag team – Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping – challenge and question the audience as to whether such actions that occur are unjust or not. Is revenge ever justified? Fighting a crime with a crime? Either way, Femme leaves a damming lasting impression.

Femme is now in UK cinemas.

4 Stars

Dom.

For John.

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This article’s featured image: By Source, Signature Entertainment, Fair Use