1985. Movie: My Beautiful Laundrette
Originally commissioned for broadcast on Britain’s Channel Four, the early critical response to this film led to it being released as a feature film in its own right.
It’s a tale of the racial, sexual and economic politics of Margaret Thatcher’s monetarist Britain and the efforts of the various players to survive within that. The conflicts and contradictions of Eighties Britain are highlighted in the relationship between Omar, a young Asian entrepreneur and working-class punk Johnny, who hangs around with a gang of right-wing thugs.
Despite Johnny’s apparently racist views and Omar’s agreement to marry his cousin Tania, the two young men embark on an intense relationship. Of course, it’s complicated by the family and social dynamics that are swirling around them.
Omar’s uncle Nasser doesn’t like Johnny and ‘his type’; Johnny doesn’t like Nasser either but is increasingly coming into conflict with his white mates. Tania finds out that her father, Nasser, is having an affair with a white woman, Rachel. Then Johnny tells Tania about his relationship with Omar. As if that’s not enough, there’s also a bit of drug-smuggling and double-dealing to build the tension even further.
And as one conflict follows another, it looks like no one is going to get a happy ending. But just when all seems lost for Johnny and Omar’s relationship, the two boys pull it together and the movie ends with both characters shirtless and playful in the laundrette’s back room.
In many ways ‘Laundrette’ was a ground-breaking film, providing not only an intelligent portrayal of a gay relationship. but also making it an inter-racial one too. Sadly, the movie was picketed by some Asian groups when it was shown in London and New York. Whether that was because of its inclusion of an Asian gay character or broader concerns about the portrayal of Asian men (for example, as drug smugglers) I don’t know.
But that controversy is long gone and we’re left with an important film that told us so much about life – gay or otherwise – in the dark days of Thatcherism.
Comments
1985. Movie: My Beautiful Laundrette — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>