Layla (I) (2024) User Reviews

Queerly wholesome and sweet

[chenp-54708 · 8/10 · 28 January 2024]

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Filmmaker Amrou Al-Kadhi has made an very fun, sweet and positive queer drama comedy with strong direction and amazing performances from all the cast members, particularly Bilal Hasna. The writing and direction helps capture the conflicts of traditional religious traditions, queer culture and the impacts of queer and drag relationships between the characters and setting. Many of the production designs, sound designs, and the dialogue is really good and the color presentation was beautiful.

Bilal Hasna and Louis Greatorex have really good chemistry between one another and many of the conversations and emotional moments were strong and visually engaging. There are some good humor but some of the humor aspects felt a little dry and could use some work. I did wish the movie did explore some of the other themes a little more but it didn't ruin the experience for me.

This movie made me learn a lot about the queer community and the drag lifestyle. And this movie was queerly wholesome to watch.

Personal, unique and colourful

[mariannakasimakis · 9/10 · 10 April 2024]

Layla was our absolute favourite film of the Sundance film festival.

The film tenderly and honestly portrays the intercultural experience of queer people of the Middle Eastern diaspora. Seeing as the family dynamics and gender binary expectations are very similar to the Greek ones, I felt like I was seeing a part of my story being told on the screen. There is a profound identity dilemma that stems from wanting to connect with your culture - which feels inherent to you - while at the same time struggling to feel free within it and your family because of your queerness. As you get older, you begin to understand the reason why you've distanced yourself from your family: fear. It is a specific type of fear, which terrifies you at the idea of being completely pushed away from your family and your culture that you admire and/or feel within, therefore you distance yourself from it all to prevent any harm, which can cause in the end just that.

It's overall a thrilling and colourful story, painted by the musicality and richness of tradition, proving audiences that more intercultural and intersectional stories are needed to keep cinema alive.