L-FILMS, TV-SERIES reviews
What Is A Good Written Lesbian Character? French TV series Call My Agent (Dix pour cent, FRA 2015-) presents the daily events at one of the two biggest (fictional) film agencies in Paris: Agence Samuel Kerr, or ASK. Mathias and his colleagues, Andréa, Gabriel and Arlette power struggle both among themselves and in the wider film industry. Call My Agent is hilarious and funny by portraying famous French actresses from Isabelle Adjani and Monica Bellucci to Isabelle Huppert – each playing a very believable yet fictional version of themselves despite those being crafted after real life experiences: namely, material for all of it comes from co-creator Dominique Besnehard, an actor and director who spent two decades as the most well-known agent in France from Talents & Productions Entertainment Agency and worked with almost everyone that means something in French film industry. However, I wonder if their agents are also crafted after themselves? Namely, I seriously wonder why and how can they have a lesbian character Andréa Martel (Camille Cottin) since she makes so many irrational and irresponsible decisions that I wonder if screenwriters know any real lesbians at all. In first season we get to know Andréa who was once straight and then discovered she is actually attracted to women - this seems plausible. However, Andréa is notorious for having one girlfriend after another until she meets firm's new accountant, Collete Brancillon (Ophélia Kolb). Collete seems familiar to Andréa who can't seem to remember from where. Collete reminds her that they first met online where Andréa bluntly dismissed Collete as unattractive. Andréa tries to correct her previous behavior and seduces Collete. Collete at first resisted and finally gave in. Andréa scored another win and conquered another trophy and as soon Collete gave in and declared love for Andréa, latter couldn't resist cheating on her at another party of attractive actresses and their busy agents. Andréa tried to apologize and convince her it was one time mistake. Collete due to Andréa's previous behavior with other women didn't believe her and broke up with her. And if that wasn't enough the screenwriters of the second season made it even more unbelievable when Andréa slept with her boss and got pregnant. What at first appears to be Andrea's flaw, namely her behaviour like some mach men who changes woman after woman, later appears as nuisance. We never learn where that personal trait or affinity comes from - is Martel's character perhaps designed after Shane's from L-word? However, Shane at least doesn't have sex with men, she has sex with woman after woman whereas when in one of her many partying nights Andrea has sex not with some random woman but also with man who becomes the next director of Kerr. How that could happen to a lesbian? Does Andréa having sex with man serves as a plot of making a lesbian mother? Well, what if we turn this logic around and write straight female characters having sex with women each time they don't wish to have a baby? Would screenwriters use this plot device as well? I bet no. This is how implausible their lesbian storyline is. And if that wasn't enough Collete forgives Andréa in order to raise a child together and be a family. And then she goes again, after she finally persuades father of her child to give up his parenting rights to Collete and Andréa and Collete are the sole parents, Andréa goes to work with toddler and let it be babysited by some random assistant while she had meeting with some of her demanding, 'neurotic' client(s)/actress(es). I wonder who would entrust her baby with a total stranger in order to have a business meeting? Examples of good writing a lesbian character are Ana Torv's characters Alex in Mistresses (UK 2008-2010) and Wendy Carr in Mindhunter (USA 2017-). These two lesbian characters don't change their sexual orientation regardless of the situation and time period and they portray lesbians as they are. It is true that Mistresses as series deals with cheating spouses, straight as homosexual alike. Alex cheats with Jessica (Shelley Conn), a straight woman who felt compelling attraction towards another woman and discovers love for the first time, even if that love is between two women. Jessica who met Alex as part of her job as a wedding planner also changed men after men until she met Alex, her true love. Alex had an affair with Jessica for a short while before and after she got married (and) until she recognized/decided that her priority and loyalty is to her wife. In Mindhunter (USA 2017-) screenwriters built even more plausable character. A young ambitious academic Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) had a relationship with a senior female (lesbian) academic in 70's who encouraged her to pursue an academic career instead of a practical field work in Quantico. Wendy disagreed and left the academic life to start working for the FBI. While working at Quantico she met Kay Mason (Lauren Glazier), a lesbian baretender in local pub with whom she had relationship for a while. Over a round of bowling, Wendy talks up about her most formative personal relationship — one where she dated a professor of hers who had significant control over how Wendy felt about herself but Kay allows Wendy to explore a romantic encounter free of toxic power dynamics. Another good example is The Counterpart's lesbian character Nadia/Baldwin Fierro from Alpha and Prime Worlds. Namely in the Counterpart (USA 2017-2019) we follow stories in two different yet intertwined worlds and in both worlds Nadia/Baldwin is a lesbian. She does not change her sexual orientation in any of the possible worlds because sexual orientation is part of her personal identity. Therefore in Alpha world we get to know a lesbian Nadia Fierro (Sara Serraiocco) whose one part of the doubles, its doppelganger lived in a happy lesbian relationship being a virtuoso violinist Nadia but in the other, Prime world is now a villain, Baldwin who has a girlfriend Greta (Liv Lisa Fries). Torv's and Serraiocco's lesbian characters are consistent with their personality, job, gender and sexual orientation and never ever even thinks of having a sex with man or for the sake of having a child.
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AuthorPhilosopher, publicist, editor, screenwriter with passion for LL-films and TV-shows. Archives
November 2021
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