Crazy sex scenes and queer revenge: Why you need to watch Netflix’s new thriller Femme

I have proceeded with caution for much hyped queer films after the, in my opinion – lacklustre, All Of Us Strangers. Femme, a BBC film that’s now been added to Netflix in the UK, is one I saw with much hype and acclaim both from my peers and critics alike – it sits very prettily on Rotten Tomatoes right now with a certified fresh rating of 97 per cent. Nothing to sniff at at all. I went in fully blind watching Femme on Netflix and you should too, as much as possible – and prepare to be blown away by an edge of your seat queer revenge thriller that will have you breathless with its relentless, anxiety-inducing tension.

Who’s in it?

Femme is mostly a two hander with a great cast. The main cast are two huge names recognisable to both UK viewers of classic teen telly and Hollywood films. As Jules, the lead, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett gives his best ever performance. He’s best known for playing Curtis in Misfits, which literally anyone my age was obsessed with when they were a teenager and E4 was everything to us all. He’s also had main roles in Utopia on Channel 4, and the reboot of the classic horror film Candyman.

George Mackay plays Preston, and gives an exhilarating turn. He’s best known of course for his lead role in the big Oscar nominated film 1917, but he’s also been in other UK films like Marrowbone and Pride. Both George Mackay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett won a BIFA earlier this year for best joint lead performance for their work in Femme.

The film’s written and directed by Sam H Freeman and Ng Choon Ping in their directorial debut.

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GO IN BLIND! But here’s what Femme is about, for those who need to know

Femme is a queer revenge thriller. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett plays Jules, a drag performer whose life falls apart after a homophobic attack perpetrated by Preston – played by George Mackay. Months later, Jules sees Preston in a gay sauna and seeks revenge – by seducing him. What unfolds is a crazily tense power play that unfolds at a nail biting pace with no clue how it’s going to go down or where it’s going to end up.

What’s so great about this story is how realistic and complex these characters are. Villains aren’t 100 per cent villainous, and the relationships we have with people we hate can be extremely complicated and sometimes inexplicable. The writing and directing double act just get it. They get British gay culture, and they get what lads like Preston are like. It feels so lived in and honestly, moving.

…The sex scenes

You detty pigs. This film is so much more than its sex scenes, but they’re still perhaps amongst the hardest I’ve seen in a film. Look, this is an 18 for a reason. The sex scenes in this film are hard, rough, brutal and not for the fainthearted. Half the runtime is honestly hardcore shagging so brace yourself. Some are problematic, too – so if you find it triggering you need to know what you’re in for.

Prepare yourselves for one of the tensest, wildest, most well written and performed queer revenge films you can hope to see. The 2023 film Femme is streaming now on UK Netflix.

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