French restaurant critic blogger Sacha (Hugo Andre) moves into handsome Irish stockbroker Dan’s (Will Masheter) West London house as a lodger. Bumbling tee-total Sacha lives a fairly solitary existence and suffers from OCD, or neurodivergence. Dan is dynamic and successful, although has split up from his wife and drinks too much. On the face of it, the two twenty-something men are completely different and this makes for several awkward situations between them. What the two men do have in common is that they each have a group of toxic straight male 
friends/colleagues. They also both have various unusual habits. When things come to a head, the two men develop a bond as they realise that they have more in common than they originally thought.
Directed by Andre and co-written by both Andre and Masheter, Makeup is an unusual unpredictable drama with great attention to detail. Andre and Masheter give strong performances as Sacha and Dan. Themes include connecting, isolation, OCD, toxic heterosexual masculinity and a few others I can’t mention to avoid spoilers. An interesting film – a celebration of outsiders.
PS The film will be available on most major streaming platforms June 27th
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
Labels: 2023, Hugo Andre, make up, male bonding, review, Ris Fatah, Will Masheter
