Z (Denée Benton) has been made redundant from her job, a decision that is likely racially motivated. Consoling herself with her polyamorous relationship and the company of her good friends Lauren (Dezi Bing) and Tasha (Sasha Comère), she decides to embark upon a quest across the country to find her missing friend, Kel (Mars Storm Rucker). The journey takes her from her beloved partner and into the lion’s den as she and her friends encounter Kel’s ex and parents.
The friends’ journey reveals the extent of Kel’s isolation from contemporary American society, causing each of the women to reflect on their own lives and attachments. Fraught sequences involving Kel’s ex-girlfriend and parents reveal the hypocrisy of apparently supportive environments. At a time of increased legislative hostility towards LGBTQI+ people and women, the saddest question the film poses is: What exactly is keeping you here? It’s a difficult question that some of the women are reluctant to consider. Tasha holds fast to the responsibilities and ties that ground her in New York in spite of everything.
Tasha’s character is perhaps the most dynamic of the film. Z and Lauren are deeply affected by their search for Kel, but embrace the journey and the opportunities it brings. Tasha is nervous and uncomfortable even in the black-owned and queer spaces they find along the way. The initial bravura she demonstrates at a nightclub sequence at the beginning of the film only re-emerges in a mid-credit sequence of the women buying fireworks, a welcome return that allows Compère to shine. Otherwise, she is struggling to stiffle her barely contained rage and angst.
But the film does not just dwell on what is wrong in the women’s life. The joy and ecstasy of embracing their identities surrounded by their communities and friends are sublime. They determine that on their journey they shall only stop at black-owned businesses and along they way they take in a friends drag show. These sequences are filled with vibrant colours, pulsating music and slow motion which creates a sense of liberation in contrast to the film’s claustrophobic sequences of oppression.
However, the real beauty of the film comes from it’s depiction of peace. When Z checks in on her lover and his lover she is transported to these blissful scenes of quiet embrace. The distant conversations become intimiate pillow talk as the sense of relief she feels is made explicit through the elimination of the distance between them. In these moments, she is free and can openly explore the fears that prevent her from finding the life her ancestors are calling her to in her dreams.
Four Stars