The Montréal-Based ‘Solo’ Gives Good Drag (Review)
metroweekly.comSolo.At the bar is where Simon (Théodore Pellerin) meets Olivier (Félix Maritaud), and love takes over. Newly arrived from Paris, Olivier performs as La Dragona, a punk-styled genderfuck queen, who makes her debut at the club with an alluringly cocky lip-sync to an ice-cold electro track.
Welcomed by his fellow performers with champagne and a night out after the show, Olivier immediately catches Simon’s eye.Simon is the bar’s leggy diva Glory Gore, introduced in a reverie of androgyny, with a scene that cuts between Glory performing Abba’s “Voulez-Vous,” and Simon dancing his heart out to the song with his friends at a club.The idea is that, in or out of drag, this is Simon, and he’s full of life and joy either way.
Pellerin, who also starred in Dupuis’ 2018 directorial debut Family First, inhabits Glory Gore as an exciting and credible drag persona that is but one dimension of Simon, the person.And, despite the fact that Pellerin hadn’t done drag before, and had to learn to walk in heels for the role, Glory’s performances consistently are the film’s most engaging.
It helps that the soundtrack is so well-chosen, the costumes are lovely, and the cinematography and editing (especially the sound editing) capture the buzz and bounce of letting loose at your local bar.The script, by Dupuis, also conveys the deeper motivations underlying Simon’s passion for performing.
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