2024: The official year of “Be Gay, Do Crime”

We look into the cinema phenomenon following the imminent releases of Drive Away Dolls and Love Lies Bleeding 

BY AMBER MITCHELL-HANNA, IMAGES BY A24 AND FOCUS FEATURES

If I had a nickel for every film this year that featured lesbians going on road trips and getting caught up in crime, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice!

In January of this year at the acclaimed Sundance festival, Love Lies Bleeding, queer sensation Kristen Stewart’s latest film, premiered to standing ovations and thunderous applause. Rose Glass’ second directorial feature, a sapphic thriller set in the 80s, tells the story of Lou (KStew), a reclusive gym manager who falls for rising bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brien), who is heading to Las Vegas to live her dream. The two hit the road and their relationship blossoms, but before long, Lou’s past catches up with them, and the pair is sucked into the web of Lou’s criminal family.

Of course, when A24 dropped the trailer to their socials back in December, the stunning visuals, steamy scenes and of course, shag-cut KStew instantly had the internet in a chokehold (and who can blame us!) But, fortunately for film fans, Love Lies Bleeding is far from the only queer crime movie hitting our screens in 2024.

A month later in February, the trailer for Ethan Coen’s solo directorial debut, Drive Away Dolls (formally Drive Away Dykes) released in the US and Australia. Also featuring sapphics that get caught up in crime, the American comedy road film features a stacked cast, including Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colmon Domingo, Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal. The film is also a collaboration between Ethan and his wife, Tricia Cooke, who identifies as a lesbian and has a separate partner like Ethan, despite the both of them still being married.

It follows the story of Jamie (Margaret) who after a break up with her girlfriend Sukie (Beanie) joins her friend Marian who is heading to Tallahassee, Florida, but on the way, accidentally gets involved with gangsters and thugs, inadvertently leading them on a wild goose chase. 

Margaret previously had sapphics entranced with her performance in Novitiate, while Beanie Feldstein captured our hearts when she married her wife, Bonnie Chance-Roberts, at their summer-camp-themed wedding last May.

Having multiple queer movies releasing in one year is a huge cause for celebration, especially when both are either directed by or starring titans of the film industry. But there’s also a further victory here, in having sapphic media that hones in on narratives outside of dealing with the identity crisis of being gay. Absolutely – approaching these storylines is integral for visibility, but there’s no denying that this overused trope that is vastly present in the majority of LGBTQIA films we have can feel… reductive to say the least. Sapphics and LGBTQIA film lovers as a whole deserve to see themselves represented in a multitude of roles and stories, with each one reinforcing the notion that queer individuals are worthy of multifaceted content and complex characters.

KStew herself spoke about her desire to be involved with more queer films that focus on experiences rather than identities with Variety, during the Love Lies Bleeding press tour. “I think we can’t keep doing that thing where we tell everyone how to feel and sort of pat each other on the back and receive brownie points for providing space for marginalised voices, and only in the capacity that they are allowed to speak about that alone.”

She continued on to say: “I’m really kind of into the idea of unearthing sidelined perspectives and not making it all about the reasons that they’re sidelined, but their actual experience… What they love, their desires are, where they come from, where they want to go. And then not feeling like you always have to stand on a f**king soapbox and be everyone’s spokesperson.”

With both of these sapphic crime films releasing this year, focusing on the journey the characters embark on, rather than the development and struggle with their identity, it’s safe to say 2024 really is the year of “Be gay, do crime”. 

Love Lies Bleeding will be released in UK cinemas from 3 May while Drive Away Dolls will be released in UK cinemas from 15 March.

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