Layla
Release date: 2024-11-22
Votes: 4
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Romance
When Layla, a struggling Arab drag queen, falls in love for the first time, they lose and find themself in a transformative relationship that tests who they really are.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
When "Layla" (Bilal Hasna) dons the full drag regalia to perform at a corporate launch for some ready meal company and they pay her in vouchers, she isn't best pleased and so makes a speech annoying just about everyone in the room except the guy from the marketing company. He's "Max" (Louis Greatorex) and it's quite clear that there's a little chemistry between the two after a brief conversation on a stairwell. It's not long before they've hooked up and what's clear is that both are attracted to the other, but that both have their identification issues that might prove difficult for the other to reconcile. The question for each of them is the extent to which they can love each other and still be who they are, want or need to be. Now perhaps it's the old romantic in me, but I hated the ending. That may be, though, because it is truthful and didn't take any easy routes out of what is quite an interesting story of human nurture, nature and personality. The former man is from Surrey, but has Arab roots whilst "Max" is as white as chalk and way more conforming to the more standard British norms of dress and family. Both are openly gay so that's not the issue, it's much more about breaking free from those linear and societal boundaries and being true to themselves. If I'm honest, I didn't much care for the drag friends. They seemed determined that "Max" was always going to be an interloper, and most of us know that embryonic relationships - platonic or sexual - can often thrive or fail depending on the reaction existing friends provide. There's quite a bit of selfishness around here and that annoyed me a little. Both performances are honest, playful and at times quite visceral and though comparisons are bound to be made with "Femme" and/or "Unicorns" from last year, this has quite an unique take on issues that are specific to those two characters here, but needn't be looked at in isolation.
Movie Recommendation
Lilo & Stitch2025-05-17The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.More...
Oppenheimer2023-07-19The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.More...
Ex Machina2015-01-21Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.More...
Titanic1997-12-18101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.More...
Blue Beetle2023-08-16Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab.More...
Back to the Future1985-07-03Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.More...
Avatar: The Way of Water2022-12-14Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.More...
PK2014-12-18A stranger in the city asks questions no one has asked before. Known only by his initials, the man's innocent questions and childlike curiosity take him on a journey of love, laughter and letting go.More...
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood2019-07-24Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…More...
Inside Out2015-06-17When 11-year-old Riley moves to a new city, her Emotions team up to help her through the transition. Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness work together, but when Joy and Sadness get lost, they must journey through unfamiliar places to get back home.More...
Inception2010-07-15Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.More...
Barbie2023-07-19Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.More...
Call Me by Your Name2017-10-01In the summer of 1983, a 17-year-old Elio spends his days in his family's villa in Italy. One day Oliver, a graduate student, arrives to assist Elio's father, a professor of Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever.More...
Shutter Island2010-02-14World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.More...
All Quiet on the Western Front2022-10-07Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.More...
Avatar2009-12-16In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.More...
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle2017-12-09Four teenagers in detention discover an old video game console with a game they’ve never heard of. When they decide to play, they are immediately sucked into the jungle world of Jumanji in the bodies of their avatars. They’ll have to complete the adventure of their lives filled with fun, thrills and danger or be stuck in the game forever!More...
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse2018-12-06Struggling to find his place in the world while juggling school and family, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales is unexpectedly bitten by a radioactive spider and develops unfathomable powers just like the one and only Spider-Man. While wrestling with the implications of his new abilities, Miles discovers a super collider created by the madman Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk, causing others from across the Spider-Verse to be inadvertently transported to his dimension.More...
Joker2019-10-01During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.More...
Dune: Part Two2024-02-27Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.More...
Similar Movies
Desert Hearts
1985-10-01While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.Mambo Italiano
2003-06-06When an Italian man comes out of the closet, it affects both his life and his crazy family.Summer Storm
2004-09-02Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.Harold and Maude
1971-12-20The young Harold lives in his own world of suicide-attempts and funeral visits to avoid the misery of his current family and home environment. Harold meets an 80-year-old woman named Maude who also lives in her own world yet one in which she is having the time of her life. When the two opposites meet they realize that their differences don’t matter and they become best friends and love each other.Cockles and Muscles
2005-03-30Crustacés et coquillages is a fresh French comedy film with numerous surprise turnarounds and about the tolerance of a family of four. The family spend an idealistic summer vacation together where each of the family members gets involved in a new or old relationship.Mala Noche
1987-06-19Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.Lucid
2022-12-29Winter and summer, day and night, life and dreams. Lucid is all about duality. Anxious and awkward in real life, Everett decides to make a change. After coming across studies in the art of Lucid dreaming, Everett hopes to improve his inept social skills. Will having full control of his dreams help him feel complete? Find out in the second feature-length film imagined by Nate Ross & Daniel Walker: Lucid.Walk on Water
2004-02-05Eyal, an Israeli Mossad agent, is given the mission to track down and kill the very old Alfred Himmelman, an ex-Nazi officer, who might still be alive. Pretending to be a tourist guide, he befriends his grandson Axel, in Israel to visit his sister Pia. The two men set out on a tour of the country, during which Axel challenges Eyal's values.9 Songs
2004-07-16Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose inevitable stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs.8 Mile
2002-11-08For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.Billy Elliot
2000-09-28County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.Dirty Dancing
1987-08-21Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.All About My Mother
1999-04-16Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.Match Point
2005-10-26Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, Tom. After being introduced to his family, Chris is soon engaged to Tom's sister, Chloe. Despite the professional and financial advantages that this relationship affords him, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, American actress Nola.Charlie and the Choco...
2005-07-13A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.Memories of Youth
2024-02-26Grappling with the complexities of mental health and trauma in a digital age that feels isolating and overwhelming, a young person embarks on a surreal journey of self-discovery, navigating the raw truths of adolescence in an attempt to find a place in the world.Boydem
2019-08-01This particular summer, at an age that falls between childhood and young adulthood, while their grandparents are taking their afternoon nap, Keren and Noam play games in the attic ("Boydem" in Yiddish) that introduces them to a new level of intimacy.On My Own
1993-07-02Simon Henderson is at boarding school in Canada while his father works in Hong Kong, and his mother lives in England. When his parents visit him in the holidays, Simon discovers that his mother has schizophrenia.Exuvia
2024-12-15A troubled nanny teaches a bullied ten-year-old that freedom to move forward is made possible by shedding the ugly skin of our past.The Making of 'Jackas...
2007-12-19A making of documentary of the film Jackass 2.5