Movie Review: “Below Her Mouth” Or A Straight Girl Walks Into A Bar…
This is part two of a series in which I will review all of the lesbian movies on Netflix. Even though most if not all of them have been heavily reviewed already, there are many that I haven’t watched. Join me as we go on this journey together. It’ll be super gay at best, unintentionally homophobic at worst, and cringeworthy almost always. | Last week’s movie: Almost Adults
Week 2: Below Her Mouth, 2017. Dir. April Mullen.
Netflix Synopsis: An engaged fashion editor begins a torrid affair with a female roofer that threatens to turn both of their lives upside down.
If there is one thing you should know about Below Her Mouth before you watch it, it’s that it was made by an entirely female crew. Every crew member, from writer Stephanie Fabrizi and director April Mullen to boom operator and production assistant, was female-identifying.
By this metric alone, Below Her Mouth is outstanding.
It is also outstanding in its portrayal of female sexuality in a carnal and frank way that most other films do not and will not attempt. The poster proudly quotes Shedoesthecity’s claim that Below Her Mouth is “the cinematic voice to the female orgasm.” While it’s debatable whether or not it’s the cinematic voice for the oh-so-rare and ever-elusive female orgasm, it certainly is up there.
This movie includes at least four sex scenes. There are at least two other almost-sex scenes. Sex is so integral to this film that the opening shot is during the first of these scenes. The camera is close on roofer Dallas’ unaffected face (Erika Linder) as she is on top of then-girlfriend Joslyn, because of course her name is Dallas, of course she’s a roofer, and of course she’s on top. The close up moves to Joslyn as she has the first Female Orgasm of the movie. The frame widens. Dallas rolls off her and announces she’s moving out.
The next day, Dallas goes to work on a roof next to the apartment of fashion editor Jasmine (Natalie Krill). They lock eyes. It’s only later at a lesbian bar that she actually meets Jasmine — who is engaged to a man and only there because her friend thought it would be “fun” — and pursues her with a determination that borders on harassment. And then, despite Jasmine’s engagement, the two are making out by minute 20.
Speaking of her engagement, fiancé Rile is so firmly a tertiary character that he only pops up a handful of times. And, despite all of the sex and nudity in the film, his penis only appears once. And when it does, it doesn’t even engage in any sexual activity. Can you even believe it? I can’t. And neither can he. But life must go on, and off on a work trip he goes, leaving Jasmine home alone.
You can pretty much guess how it goes from there.
Actually, you know how it goes from there, because you’ve seen it already. The biggest plot points and twists are ones that have already occurred in other films and shows: The L Word (Jenny Schecter’s season one plot), Fun Home (“Changing My Major”), and every other LGBT movie you’ve ever watched. Recognizable lines include, but are not limited to, “I’ve never done anything like this before,” “I’m memorizing every part of you,” and “Are you a lesbian?” Because what’s a queer film without some good old-fashioned bi-erasure? As soon as you learn that the two main characters are a charming lesbian and an engaged straight girl, you can fill in the blanks yourself. (Caveat: Jasmine does state briefly that she had a girlfriend in high school, though she never self-identifies as anything. It feels like bi-erasure more than anything else, and in the context of the rest of the film, the admission is almost insignificant. It is such a fleeting conversation that it comes across as gratuitous in order to avoid the trope of “turning” her.)
Those behind the project are adamant that the movie is not porn. It is art; it is a narrative; it is a film with full nudity. That can be true if you want it to be. However, just like Dallas, it has “no emotional stamina for intimacy” outside of sex. Whatever attempts it makes at story feel anemic, and the effort that went into visual richness did not carry over to the page. The cinematography is beautiful and at times arresting, but it does more for the story than the actual text does. The way the sex scenes are shot will speak to the psychology of the characters more than the actual characters themselves will. Like in porn, the plot is weak at best and contrived at worst. And even though Krill and Linder pour passion into all facets of their performances, it’s still not quite enough to make up for what the script lacks.
Below Her Mouth accomplishes Mullen’s goal of telling a “true, honest female perspective of what it’s like to fall in love.” That is, of course, if you identify with either Jasmine or Dallas. If you don’t, it’s just a film about two attractive women having a lot of sex with each other, which is nothing to be sad about. Maybe just don’t watch it with your mother.
FINAL TALLY
Gays Buried: None
Queer Director: Yes
Queer Writer: Yes
Queer Actor(s): Yes
Watch Below Her Mouth
Next week’s movie: A Perfect Ending
