Movies

“All About E” puts a lesbian spin on the road movie genre

A lesbian of Lebanese background and a gay Irish lad on the lam in Australia—the road movie you never knew you wanted. This is writer/director Louise Wadley‘s All About E.

The movie tells the story of E (Mandahla Rose) current top DJ and former aspiring clarinetist. E had the girl and lost her, and now she gets all the girls. If you think that means she’s happy, think again. She’s living much more for her parents and rotten club owner Johnny than she is for herself. So when a bag of cash mysteriously shows up at her apartment, why wouldn’t she take off?

“Road movies are often the escape,” Wadley said in an exclusive interview with AfterEllen.com. “The characters in the movie think, ‘Ah, we’re getting away from something.’ And generally speaking, they’re trying to get away from something which is themselves, but the road movie is what forces them to have to look at the different things they’re not dealing with.”

What’s E not dealing with? The fear of failing herself and her family.

E loves playing the clarinet, but making it is harder than she’d anticipated. But being a DJ, that comes easier to her. And basking in the energy of hundreds of club goers, well, that would go to anyone’s head.

Her ex-girlfriend Trish (Julie Billington), who we first see in several lovely flashbacks, isn’t so keen on her giving up on her dreams. Their relationship has bigger problems though. When it comes to her parents, E has firmly set herself up in the closet.

E carries the burden of trying to be the best for her parents. The pressures of excelling as the daughter of immigrant parents is a reality she constantly struggles with. Coming out just doesn’t seem like an option, as surprising as that might be to some.

“She feels this very heavy burden of responsibility for her parents’ happiness. And I think people need to understand that,” Wadley said. “That it’s not just about someone not being brave enough or whatever to come out. I think it’s very complex and I think everyone has their own path.”

That path is too much of a strain on E and Trish’s relationship, as we learn the two broke up. For a good portion of the film, Trish is just a bittersweet memory. E has more pressing troubles!

Turns out that big bag of cash belongs to Johnny and he’s got his henchmen tracking it down. After E is unsuccessful in trying to convince her exes to shelter her, she thinks it’s a good idea to hide away at her parents’ with her flamboyant gay best friend Matt (Brett Rogers). Way to not blow your cover, E.

Of course Johnny figures out her coordinates, but fortunately he’s gullible enough to believe E when she says she’s taking the money back to him. Her parent’s safe, E hits the road again with Matt. But with Trish just a highway exit away, how can she resist visiting?

She’s not welcomed with open arms. It’s been a year since these two last saw each other and Trish is still hurt. Yet, she agrees to let E and Matt stay at her place for a night or two.

Love like theirs though, it just doesn’t go away. They can’t resist the pull towards each other, and what results is one of the most sensuous (and lengthy!) lesbian sex scenes I’ve seen in a while. Not surprising, as a lot of thought went into it.

“I wanted to do something that was very passionate, but also from a point of view of people who’d been involved for some time,” Wadley said. “It was thought about a lot. The actresses were fantastic. We did a lot of rehearsal, and we talked a lot about what is going on in this scene and what does it mean to the two characters.”

It certainly doesn’t mean their issues are resolved, especially now that Trish has been wrangled into helping E and Matt escape. No road movie, however, would be complete without a showdown, so you better believe Johnny eventually catches up to them.

Then what? Bloodshed? Jail time? More lesbian processing? You know what I’m going to say—watch the movie!

All About E will have its international premiere on June 22 at Frameline in San Francisco. Wolfe Releasing is the film’s North American distributor, so look out for the DVD release in early 2016. You can also visit the movie’s Facebook page to find out when it’ll be playing at a film festival near you.

All About E – NEW official trailer from Jay Rutovitz on Vimeo.

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