The queens are taking over the movie theaters!
Yes, it seems “drag drama” is an increasingly popular movie subgenre, as the past year or so has given us the French-Canadian romance Solo, the Sundance charmer Layla, and the dark revenge thriller Femme. Guess we’ll be grabbing our dollar bills and sashaying our way to the cineplex!
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Next up is the British romance Unicorns, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, where it was declared a “gorgeous glittering hidden gem of the fest.” Needless to say, we’re very excited!
EastEnders‘ Ben Hardy stars as Luke, a single father who works as a mechanic but is struggling to make ends meet. One night, he makes his was to a bar, where—unbeknownst to him—a drag show is underway.
That’s when Muslim drag queen Aysha (singer-songwriter Jason Patel, making their feature film debut) takes the stage. Luke is immediately drawn to her. Luke also has no idea she’s a drag queen…
But after a bit of heavy flirting, it finally hits Luke.Though he’s always considered himself to be straight, he can’t deny how being with Aysha makes him feel. Still, he gets cold feet and runs away.
Feeling slighted and hurt—and equally strapped for cash—Aysha tracks Luke down the next day, coming to him with a proposition: He’ll be her personal driver, taking her from gig to gig across town, and he’ll share a portion of the queens profits in return. So, Driving Miss Daisy, but make it fabulous?
Of course, the more time Luke and Aysha spend together, the more their walls come down, especially for Luke, who has to set aside his assumptions both of Aysha and of his own sexuality.
Early reviews for Unicorns showered praise on both Hardy and Patel, making it a point to highlight the crackling chemistry between our romantic leads. All the more impressive: Per Deadline, the stars were kept from interacting during the casting or pre-production process, only meeting for the first time on set to better capture the magic of a first encounter!
And their connection is pretty electric off-camera, too. While taking the film to festivals around the world, there’s been an undeniable spark between the two, who aren’t shy about saying they “fell in love” on set (in a platonic way). But every time they snap a photo together, our hearts skip a beat. The press tour for this one is going to have us blushing!
Co-directed by Sally El Hosaini (The Swimmers) and actor James Krishna Floyd (who previously starred in the filmmaker’s feature debut My Brother The Devil), Unicorns is headed to U.K. and Irish cinemas on July 5. And while no proper U.S. date has been announced yet, stay tuned!
Check out the first theatrical trailer for Unicorns below:
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Huron132
There is a mix of soany different movies in this one film. But it looks really good. I hope to get a chance to see it sometime. I’ve always been a fan of Ben Hardy. So I hope it will be sooner than later here in America.