London’s queer East End nightlife has always been a melting pot of races, communities and cultures. One of the highlights of a night in any one of its fabulous queer bars and clubs over the decades – from the legendary LA, Joiners Arms, Trade, The Spiral Staircase, Benjy’s and so on, to current gems like Adonis, The Divine and Dalston Superstore – is that you never know who you’re going to meet. Unicorns, a great new film directed by partners James Krishna Floyd and Sally El Hosaini, examines what happens when two very different men come together in such an environment.
Hunky twenty-seven-year-old Essex boy mechanic Luke, (Ben Hardy from Eastenders fame, also Bohemian Rhapsody), is out one night enjoying a curry on his own. He’s straight and a single dad to son Jamie, aged 5. He can hear music coming through the wall of a neighbouring basement to the curry restaurant. On further investigation he finds himself in a vibrant nightclub full of queer Asian men and drag queens. He doesn’t realise he’s in a queer club and is drawn to lead dancer Aysha (Jason Patel). They chat after Aysha’s performance and quickly end up in each other’s arms and mouths. Luke then sees a male couple kissing and notices Aysha’s Adams apple, and horrified, realises he’s been kissing a man. He makes a rapid exit from the club, angry, but also confused as he really fancies Aysha. Aysha (pronouns: icon, legend) follows him out and the two have an animated chat before parting.
Luke gets back to his daily life, working and parenting. His latent queerness is triggered again one night when a straight male friend playfully blows smoke into his mouth and he loves the sensation. Aysha’s daytime life is centred around his job selling make-up in a chemist. He’s not out to his family, who live in his home town of Manchester. At night, in full drag, he performs as a dancer at extravagant private parties, mostly for closeted Asian men. This is lucrative work but comes with a risk of violence and abuse, both from his clients and also from his fellow drag dancers, not all of whom are supportive sisters. The parties are all over London and Essex, and as far afield as Birmingham. He needs a driver/security for this work, and when his current driver lets him down, he tracks down Luke at his garage in Essex to ask him to be his driver. Strapped for cash, Luke agrees and the two begin a very dramatic working/romantic relationship.
Unicorns is a beautiful study of self-discovery and self-acceptance where both partners navigate their own journeys whilst simultaneously supporting each other. In a world obsessed with labels and identity, the film is refreshing as neither character feels the need to identify themselves in a particular way. Ben Hardy is excellent as the strapping, sexy, yet thoughtful Luke, and he’s complemented by the rest of the strong cast, in particular, both mens’ stifling family members. The oppressiveness of small community/family life is examined with great accuracy, as is the intersection of such communities. Queer Muslim representation is rare in film, and handled well. Hardy and Patel have a strong chemistry which combines well with an interesting plot, classic and somewhat bleak, British cinematography, to achieve a very sweet, gently paced, and ultimately very watchable film.
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
