fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
written and directed by Damon Cardasis; and was his first feature film. The film stars Luka Kain,
Margot Bingham
Margot Bingham is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is best known for her role as jazz singer Daughter Maitland in the HBO period drama series, ''Boardwalk Empire''. In 2015, Bingham began starring as one of lead characters in the A ...
,
Regina Taylor
Regina Annette Taylor ''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American
, Marquis Rodriguez,
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez (born January 7, 1991), formerly known as MJ Rodriguez, is an American actress and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Rodriguez attended several performing arts schools in her youth before being cast in a theater ...
, and
Indya Moore
Indya Adrianna Moore (born January 17, 1995) is an American actor and model. They are known for playing the role of Angel Evangelista in the FX television series '' Pose''. ''Time'' named them one of the 100 most influential people in the world ...
. The film was released on January 12, 2018, by
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. The curr ...
. The concept of the movie is loosely based on the LGBTQ+ outreach program, Art & Acceptance, at St Luke in the Fields located in the West Village of New York City.
Plot
Fourteen-year-old Ulysses lives with his mother, Amara, and younger brother. Because his father has recently died, his father's sister, the conservative Aunt Rose, agrees to help take care of Ulysses and his brother while their mother is at work. Ulysses is bullied at school by his classmates and threatened at home by Rose for his feminine characteristics.
One night Ulysses ventures out into the city and meets a group of transgender and gay individuals, Ebony, Dijon, Raymond, and Heaven. Ebony invites Ulysses to Saturday Church, a program run at a church every Saturday to feed and provide shelter for LGBT youths. While there Ulysses develops an interest in
voguing
Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990) ...
, later buying a pair of high-heel shoes to practice in.
Ulysses also begins to form a relationship with Raymond, who has mutual feelings for him. After returning home from school one day, Aunt Rose is waiting for Ulysses and confronts him about the high-heels, which she discovered in his room. Rose begins to beat Ulysses, causing him to run away from the house.
Ulysses attempts to go to Saturday Church for help, but as it is Wednesday, none of his friends are there. Ulysses spends the night at a homeless shelter, where he resolves to accept himself for who he is and not who others want him to be. The next day, Ulysses talks to an older male who invites him to his apartment.
Desperate and hungry, Ulysses
prostitutes
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
himself to the man for food and money. On Saturday, Ulysses returns to Saturday Church, where his friends comfort him and offer a place to stay, but Ulysses wants to see his mother. Back at the house, Amara, who has reported Ulysses as missing to the police, prepares to search for him.
Before she leaves, Ebony escorts Ulysses into the house. Rose, who is also there, verbally berates Ebony and Ulysses, causing Amara to defend them from her sister-in-law until Rose leaves. The next day, Amara reassures Ulysses that her love for him is unconditional. With newfound confidence, Ulysses prepares to vogue in drag in a ballroom scene club.
Cast
Release
The film premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
on April 23, 2017. On September 5, 2017,
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. The curr ...
acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released on January 12, 2018, by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Reception
The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film a rating of 93%, based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".