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As Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) stands outside smoking with friends, he notices a man, Preston (George Mackay), standing across the street looking at him. The man is a young white Londoner with tattoos on his hands and neck, more in line with a gangster than someone who would visit a gay nightclub. Preston soon walks away into the dark alley.

Jules, a drag performer at an East London nightclub, is enjoying life in an environment where he is accepted for who he is. As he takes center stage, the crowd roars as he takes off his cape to reveal his scandalous outfit and begins to lip sync the lyrics to the song Cleo by Shygirl:

You got me feeling like a movie star
All eyes on me
You got me feeling like a movie star
I can be your fantasy

And a movie star is exactly what Jules embodies. He is the center of attention at this nightclub and has the close support of patrons and friends around him. After his show he boldly walks outside and thinks about seeing Preston earlier. He boldly walks into the dark alley in full drag attire.

Jules enters a nearby convenience store to get cigarettes and while he waits in line, the door busts open with a group of young men. As he nervously looks over, he once again sees Preston. The men quickly take note of Jules, questioning to one another if he’s really a man and hurl a few homophobic slurs at him. Jules boldly calls out Preston for “checking him out earlier” before leaving the store. Embarrassed, Preston quickly chases Jules out into the street and proceeds to physically assault Jules and strip him of all of his clothes.

Three months pass and Jules has become a complete recluse. No longer going out or performing at the nightclub, his friends become worried for him. Jules goes to a local gay spa where he once again sees Preston–except he is unaware of who Jules is because he’s not wearing any makeup. He follows Preston out to his car and the two men eventually go back to Preston’s apartment. Before they can have sex, all of Preston’s friends show up at the apartment. Jules acts like he is there to buy drugs. Barely escaping without their cover being blown, Preston demands to get Jules number.

What transpires over the course of the film is a very complex relationship between the two men. Jules is in the relationship for one reason only: to get revenge and out Preston. Preston is a closeted gay man and is surrounded perhaps to the least understanding people, fellow gangsters and drug dealers. As time unfolds, Preston gets more comfortable with his sexuality and begins to see the beauty of Jules as a human being. It’s a collision course with emotional destruction, where the film asks the question: at what point is revenge worth it?

Jules represents sexual liberation and freedom, where Preston represents suppressed sexuality hampered by cultural norms where gay men are still discriminated by portions of society. But Femme doesn’t paint a simple black and white world. Preston did assault Jules to the point where he develops PTSD. Jules world has been completely taken from him. Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, would be angry. On the other end of the spectrum, Preston’s world has never been given to him. Though Femme doesn’t dive into the details of his past, it’s easy to decipher that there hasn’t been anyone in his life that would have been willing to accept him for who he is. In a manner similar to Chiron from Moonlight, Preston’s exterior is a complete front. His neck tattoo is of a bird’s wings, which nearly completely cover his neck from left to right. It’s irony in it’s purest form, because the tattoo of wings represents the freedom he thinks he has, but it’s choking him–a literal cover for who he is underneath. This is compounded by Preston’s anger and short temper, to the point where head drug dealer proclaims that Preston is the most angry and violent out of any of them.

Directors Sam Freeman and Ng Choon Ping do an excellent job of portraying the underworld that gay men in London, especially in the drag community, still find themselves in. Outside of both mens “mates”, you don’t see anyone walking the streets or living in the city. Taking place mostly at night, it’s not a coincidence that Freeman and Ping showcase the drag community coming out a night–as if they aren’t accepted during the day. Even the flat that Jules lives in, appears to have a giant piece of plywood covering the door–like it’s been condemned by the city. When Jules and Preston go out to a restaurant for a date, they are seemingly taken to the back of the restaurant into a booth with seats that seemingly conceal them from people around them. Other than the waitress, we don’t see anyone in the background at the restaurant. Every time Jules and Preston have sex, whether it is in the middle of the forest at night, or at an abandoned industrial park–it reinforces the concept that where people normally have sex, in their own bedroom, is an unattainable feat for these men.

Femme is great debut directorial effort from Sam Freeman and Ng Choon Ping. With superb performances from Nathan Stewart-Jarret and George Mackay, the film ends with a hefty punch. By the time the credits rolled I really questioned who I felt worse for at the end. Both actors gave the characters they played a deep and complex moral insight. There are no easy answers in Femme, but I believe it’s an early standout of a movie for 2024.

★★★★