Layla: Amrou Al-Kadhi's queer love story splits critics

"British-Iraqi drag artist and filmmaker Amrou Al-Kadhi makes a strong feature debut" with this coming-of-age comedy-drama, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian.

Set in east London, it stars Bilal Hasna as Layla, a drag artist from a strict Muslim family. While performing for a corporation that is seeking to "Pridewash" its brand, Layla locks eyes with a "suit-wearing, straight-acting" marketing executive called Max (Louis Greatorex). The pair embark on a passionate affair, but Layla suspects heartbreak may be "around the corner", as Max is not being "honest with the world about his identity". The film is "glib" at times, but it's carried by Hasna's "winning performance".

'Bland' romance

A number of recent films have been about "a socially conservative white English bloke" dating "a non-white drag queen", and I fear that "the law of diminishing returns is beginning to bite", said Kevin Maher in The Times.

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In "Layla", Hasna is "warmly effective", but the screenplay (which is also by Al-Kadhi) is "undernourished" and contains "gasp-inducing clunkers". "I'm kind of obsessed with octopi," says Max, during one earnest seduction scene. "They just seem so free." Layla not only agrees, but runs with it, replying: "They're like warrior shapeshifters. That's how I feel."

Yet their romance is "bland", topped off with "some sub-Oprah sentiment about self-empowerment".

Lacking in depth

The film "clearly comes from a very personal place", said Anna Smith in Time Out; it has interesting things to say about the lip service paid to diversity in the corporate world; and, if nothing else, you can enjoy it for the fabulous costumes. But it does feel a bit lacking in depth.