Watched Unicorns (2023/2024) and it was so refreshing seeing a drag queen in narrative media, as the romantic lead i might add! I want more! There's not enough! More femme gay characters! More Drag Queens! More Drag Kings!!
Title: Unicorns
Directed by: Sally El-Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd
Written by: James Krishna Floyd
Starring: Jason Patel and Ben Hardy
Director of photography: David Raedecker
Production designer: Robert Wischhusen-Hayes
Art director: Chris Evans-Wilson
Costume designer: Nirage Mirage
Year: 2023
Unicorns is a story of worlds colliding and others forced to skirt around each other; Luke, a straight, white mechanic from Essex stumbles accidentally into the world of British-Muslim drag queen Aysha. After their first fateful meeting, they step tentatively into each other's lives, finding comfort and friendship in each other's company while being painfully aware of the outer world and how it affects them and their relationship.
As Aysha, Jason Patel balances an endearing confidence with a grim awareness of the world and her place in it. Aysha navigates her life with an uncompromising sense of self-preservation that stems from a desire to be safe in the world, presenting and identifying as her true self, but knowing that the world isn't safe for her to be in yet. Luke, a heretofore straight, single father, kisses Aysha the night they meet, but runs away when he realises that she is not the cis-woman he thought she was. After this night, Aysha and Luke become inextricably linked, each wholly fascinated by the other and any time one tries to pull away, the other won't let them do so. As a queer Muslim, Aysha is living a double life; she’s kept Aysha a secret from her conservative parents in Manchester while trying to keep Ashiq at a distance from Luke who is still coming to terms with his evolving sexuality. Luke invites Aysha into his family through his young son, but struggles with the traditional views of masculinity that are still evident in his environment and the people he spends time with. Ben Hardy is electric in the role, keeping his emotions caged, as he grows accustomed to Aysha's world and a new understanding of his identity, but always simmering underneath the surface ready to burst. Their chemistry is organic and honest and makes real a situation that might be unusual to many people, but is, ultimately, about trying to live your life.
Unicorns explores everything from sexual identity and gender roles to cultural identity, but it is, at heart, a love story between two unlikely people. Bearing in mind those tricky subjects, that love is never easy for Aysha and Luke even when the dynamic between the two actors makes it seem like the easiest thing in the world.
Other bits:
I'm trying to incorporate more crew into these reviews depending on what stood out to me, for Unicorns it was a lot of the aesthetic/visual elements
the colour schemes throughout the film are gorgeous, even when it's grey and brown and dull it's still so powerful and effective
I love how the film allows time for Luke and Aysha to connect to each other after their initial meeting; their attraction to each other is always simmering underneath but they don't act on it prematurely instead they get to actually enjoy each other's company before pursuing a physical relationship
as much as I loved the build-up of their relationship, I was left wondering about the connotations of Luke's attraction to Aysha as opposed to Ashiq and how Aysha/Ashiq actually identifies; at the end Aysha seems to embrace Ashiq somewhat more but I wasn't sure how Luke played into that and would have been interested to explore this part of their dynamic more (Unicorns 2 is what I'm saying)
the way they get physically closer to each other as they grow more comfortable in each other's presence - all of the visual cues in this film are amazing
PSA: if I've incorrectly labelled Aysha or there's an issue with me referring to her as Aysha/Ashiq please let me know and I'll edit, any mistakes are made out of well-meaning ignorance and I'd love to be educated on the matter if I'm incorrect! (I'd also love to be complimented if I've done well, just sayin' 😉)
