TORONTO – We hate to break it to the haters, but hundreds of thousands of drag queens across the world have no intention of going back into the closet. Some make their living on a public stage, while others are looking for that perfect moment to step into the spotlight. And while many of them may wear the same wig, have similar makeup, and even wear the same costume bought off Amazon dot com, they each have their own unique stories to tell. Despite some questionable narrative choices, the fictional British and Muslim queen at the center of Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd’s “Unicorns,” which debuted today at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, falls into that category.
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Co-directed and written by El Hosaini and Floyd, the movie centers on an unexpected pairing you probably think could only happen in the movies, which would be a very false assumption. Luke (Ben Hardy) is a 26-year-old single dad trying to raise his son in Essex. One night, he unintentionally happens upon an underground club night and doesn’t recognize that it’s specifically for queer South Asians. When the gorgeous and sexy Aysha (Jason Patel) hits the stage, he’s utterly transfixed. That’s when the slightly familiar aspect of this particular story begins to play out. Luke doesn’t know Aysha isn’t a real girl, and, uh-oh, Aysha thinks he does. Once he discovers the truth, their brief night ends with Luke frustrated by his attraction and Aysha’s infatuation costing her much-needed transportation. Her regular driver is just as into Aysha and has had enough of her rejections.
We quickly learn that Aysha may be shy out of drag, but she’s gutsy once she puts some heels on. She tracks down Luke at his workplace – in day drag, no less – with a proposition: drive her to her gigs across England and get a substantial cut of her booking fee. Luke, who is looking to earn enough money to bring his 5-year-old to Disneyland, sheepishly agrees. You might think you know where the story is going from there, but Hosaini and Floyd aren’t interested in a tepid drag version of “Driving Miss Daisey” or “Green Book.” There’s substantially more at work here.
Despite the current popularity of drag in mainstream British culture, Aysha is working in a completely different world. Her gigs are mostly parties of closeted bi or gay Muslim men looking to indulge in their fantasies privately. There’s no lip-syncing. No comedy bits. Just dancing and eye candy, and Aysha is damn good at it. It’s also better living than her makeup store day job, but it comes with a price. She’s the subject of constant death threats and harassment that most non-Muslim queens don’t have to deal with (something that makes Luke see her in a different light). It doesn’t help that she’s surrounded by a clique of other “Gaysian” queens who are often more competitive than sisterly. Complicating matters even more, Aysha’s living a double life from her traditional family, who feel half a world away on the other side of the country. Her parents have no idea their son is gay, let alone a drag queen. And she has no intention of telling them.
Asifa Lahore, recognized as Britain’s first “out” Muslim drag queen, was a consultant and executive producer on the project. It’s unclear how much she truly contributed to the story, but there is a grounded realism here that’s genuinely rare in tales such as this. Despite Lahore’s contributions and Patel’s impressive turn, the movie finds itself swept away in Luke’s story. That’s partially due to an absolutely incredible performance by Hardy that immediately makes you wonder why he isn’t a bigger star. Someone needs to scream it from the mountain tops because Hardy often carries the film on his considerably wide and talented shoulders. He’s so good we’re genuinely perplexed how he’s not regarded in the same vein as peers such as Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor. But, we digress…
As Aysha and Luke continue to work together, his infatuation with her begins to grow. Is he bisexual? Is he fluid? Is he just attracted to femininity? At the absolute worst, you can argue the film is an intriguing conversation starter in that respect. Early on, Luke finds himself wondering if he’s been propositioned by one of his male buddies and is visibly intrigued by it (a scene that could have been on the nose but thankfully isn’t). Still, as time passes, he falls hard for Aysha even though everything around him tells him it’s wrong. And the reappearance of Emma, his son’s mother (Hannah Onslow), only complicates his feelings. Or does it?
“Unicorns” already has a lot on its plate when it takes a late turn that may be rooted in real-life events but feels superfluous in this context. You just wonder, “Why?” Then again, we’re not sure why El Hosaini, who made a splash with “The Swimmers” a year ago, felt the need to co-direct this one, either. But the chemistry between Patel and Hardy is often divine, and the latter delivers such a layered and charismatic performance you’re with it till the end. And that’s something Aysha would absolutely want to put on a sexy frock, hit the town, and celebrate. [B]
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