Femme *** (2023, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, George MacKay, Aaron Heffernan) -– Classic Movie Review 12,790

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.

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.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,790

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