‘Femme’ Unleashes The Brutal Truth: Queer Trauma Cuts Both Ways

Too many people slept on Femme; a brutal, beautiful queer thriller sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

From the first scene, the film plunges into raw, anxious tension. After a dazzling drag performance, Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) steps outside for a smoke and catches the eye of Preston (George MacKay), a brooding stranger. Hours later, Preston and his friends corner and viciously attack Jules, leaving him stripped of the confidence and joy he once wore so easily.

When Jules later spots Preston at a local sauna (and realizes Preston doesn’t recognize him) Jules seizes the chance to take revenge. Preston and Jules fall into a twisted, electric relationship where both men grapple with the violence of a homophobic world: Preston, closeted and self-loathing, poisoned by the fear of living authentically; Jules, open and proud, brutalized for daring to live out loud.

Femme captures the double-edged danger of queer life: the wounds carved by hiding and the wounds carved by exposure. The film dares to ask: how far will you go to heal, and what will it cost? 

This is queer cinema history in the making, and it’s streaming now on Hulu. Don’t miss it.