Publications
Partners
What it's about:
A bold, uninhibited drama that begins with a passionate weekend affair between two women. Dallas, a roofer and Jasmine, a fashion editor, share a powerful and immediate connection that inevitably derails both of their lives.
What we thought:
This art house film encapsulates the feeling of desire on first sight. It is slick and sexy in its filmmaking style but has a whirlwind romance at its heart, with moments that will leave you teary-eyed and glances that will make your pulse quicken.
Does that mean that Below Her Mouth is perfect? Most certainly not but I don’t think it’s trying to be. It’s a movie about more than just the sum of its parts. Its young filmmakers - director April Mullen and writer Stephanie Fabrizi – have received a lot of flak on the North American festival circuit for the film and while I feel that a lot of the criticism is warranted I still think that the film tells a story that needs to be told.
They managed to get this movie, which centres on LGBTIQA people, not only made but distributed across most of the world which is something that should be acknowledged, not to mention the fact that it is shot and edited in a breathtakingly beautiful way.
I totally understand that a flick with a lot of sex, drama and ups and downs might not be for everyone but I enjoyed it. Yes, I did gasp during the opening scene (along with all the other reviewers at the screening which took place in the early morning on a Tuesday) but that’s because I have been conditioned to not expect that level of erotic imagery in mainstream cinema.
Eventually during the course of the film I felt myself start to loosen up and realised that the sex (which happens from the outset of the film and throughout) is used as a story device and gives you more insight into the two lead characters, Jasmine and Dallas. Jasmine is played by Natalie Krill - who TV viewers might know from Beauty and the Beast - and Dallas is played by Swedish model Erika Linder.
Linder and Krill’s chemistry is the beating heart of this love story. While I won’t give away any spoilers I will say that the two performers have to go from strangers to lovers to characters at a cross roads within a few heartbeats so it’s not easy. But they bounce off of each other and have palpable sexual/romantic tension between them even in scenes where they don’t speak, which is a testament to the filmmakers and the actresses’ talent.
What I like most about this movie is that it takes a storyline that we have seen several times on the big screen between cis-het couples and puts two LGBTIQA characters at the centre of it, which immediately makes it different, and to me at least, more interesting.
I would say that if you found the sex scenes in Fifty Shades of Grey a little bit too spicy for you then this film will certainly be too much for you. If you’re a little more accustomed to movies that push the envelope in a sultry way and enjoy them then this is the date night movie for you. I would pay money to see it at the cinema because I think that LGBTIQA representation is important and the best way to see more characters like this carry a film is to be a paying customer on opening weekend.
