‘Femme’ (2023) — Thriller Dares Us To Resist Masc Gay Power
A dark reflection on masculinity in gay culture
“You want a big man to treat you like a little bitch.”
Preston
I had no interest in watching a movie that opens with another brutal assault on a drag queen. But Femme is much more than that.
On the surface it’s a tense cat-and-mouse thriller about a fierce drag queen and a closeted hardman.
But Femme is also a dark reflection on the power of masculinity in gay culture. With an incredible cast.
Warning: spoilers ahead
Brutal
Written and directed by Sam H Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, Femme opens with Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) lip-syncing to an adoring crowd as stunning drag queen Aphrodite Banks.
Outside the club, Jules is brutally assaulted by a group of thugs led by Preston, played by George MacKay — in stark contrast to his role as the sweet Joe in 2014 movie Pride.
Weeks later, Jules spots the closeted Preston in a gay sauna. Preston doesn’t recognise Jules out of drag, and the two begin to meet in a series of tense encounters — while Jules plots his revenge.
Power play
“Who’s the big man now?”
Preston
Femme explores how gay men empower themselves, whether dealing with shame (Preston) or recovering from attack and humiliation (Jules).
Capitalism offers us a few standard routes to empowerment: by earning more, buying more, elevating your social status or heading to the gym to make your arms, chest and butt as huge as possible.
In western culture, masculinity encapsulates all of these indicators of power. In Femme, Preston is the snarling embodiment of masculinity.
Pumped up, coked up and covered in tats, Preston is as flash as he is aggressive.
Described by his friend Oz (Aaron Heffernan) as “a pitbull who’s been dropped on his head too many times,” Preston has an extremely short fuse. The ex-con now leads a wolf pack of London lads who could easily be mistaken for a cackle of hyenas.
Eager to dominate and throw his weight around, Preston feels his masculinity is undermined by the fact that he’s gay. While he lets his sex drive take him onto the apps and into the saunas, Preston remains deeply ashamed of his sexuality, so he keeps his gayness on the downlow.
In the opening scene, Jules (in full drag) exposes Preston’s closeted nature, sparking the ferocious attack which sets the movie in motion.
“I’m a private person — I don’t like people getting in my business.”
Preston
Femme 4 masc
The brute masculinity embodied by Preston is prized on the gay scene.
Just watch the porno being screened during the sauna sequence: two butch muscular guys grunting their way through an aggressive imitation of sex.
Despite his best intentions, Jules remains attracted to Preston throughout Femme. Preston guesses this, and is more than happy to act out his bully fantasy.
“I know your type. You want to get fucked in the arse by a thug.”
Preston
In one scene Preston drives Jules into a wood, hate fucks him up against a tree from behind, then abandons Jules to find his own way home. When his gentle flatmate Toby tries to comfort him, Jules pushes him away and retreats to his bedroom to message Preston again.
This scene is deeply unsettling because it rings true. Masc “tops” retain elevated status on the gay scene, no matter how selfish they are — as if that’s all we deserve.
Gay power
Thankfully Jules gets back on track during Femme and finds his own queer route to empowerment.
As his confidence grows, he’s keen to return to the stage as the fierce Aphrodite.
“I miss her — she was so powerful. It’s like she was the real me and I was the performance.”
Jules
In one brilliant scene, Jules finds himself in Preston’s flat surrounded by his gang. Jules blags his way through their chat and proceeds to kick all their asses at Street Fighter, as female warrior Chun-Li.
Revenge porn
With echoes of Michaela Coel’s acclaimed 2020 drama series I May Destroy You, Jules spends the film plotting revenge upon his attacker.
His plan to secure that revenge is deeply problematic, however, as Jules toys with the idea of revenge porn. He aims to film Preston having sex with him, then share it online — forcibly outing Preston to his mates and to the world.
Thankfully Jules doesn’t follow through on this. While it may be hot to watch “demontwink” being bummed by his “straight” neighbour, any closeted guy who is publicly exposed in this way is likely to react with the full force of his fists or the law.
As Jules realises, posting revenge porn places you in significant danger, in exchange for some brief satisfaction and a few Likes on Pornhub.
Roleplay
As Femme edges towards its violent end, roleplay and clothing become increasingly important.
Preston wears designer gear to assert his status as a powerful man with money, and dresses “masc” to hide his homosexuality.
At one point he texts Jules: “Dress normal — not faggy.”
Jules initially does what he is told, leading Toby (in their inexplicably large shared flat) to voice concern about his friend’s altered dress sense and his new macho “posturing”.
Shut in his room, Preston affirms his dominance over Jules by instructing him: “Take your clothes off. Good boy.”
But as the film progresses, Jules turns the tables on Preston. After one eventful night at a club, Preston becomes submissive to Jules. This switch isn’t entirely convincing, but it swerves the narrative in an interesting direction.
Jules feels empowered in his new dominant role, and once again he feels able to wear the clothes of his fierce drag alter ego Aphrodite.
Climax
Femme is gripping and tense. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion but having no idea where the car is heading, or who is steering.
The final encounter between Jules and Preston is brutal. Confronted by Preston in his dressing room, Jules explains: “I just felt sorry for you.”
One of the achievements of Femme is that it almost makes you share that sympathy. Jules ends the film embraced by friends, community and love. Preston is left crying alone in a backstreet, disempowered and distraught.
A compelling and unsettling watch, Femme is required viewing for anyone who is even slightly disturbed by our masculinised gay culture.
It also exposes how powerless we can feel as gay men, and the lengths we go to — and the roles we play — to regain some of that power.
“This is why we don’t date people who hate themselves.”
Toby
- Femme (18) is out now on Netflix & other streaming services
