The Male-Inspired Lesbian Orgasm

BELOW HER MOUTH

April Mullen, 2016

Below Her Mouth was marketed as "a lesbian movie that finally has the female gaze." And then there's Erika Linder as one of the lead characters. I was excited to watch the film because of its alleged female gaze and the androgynous beauty of Miss Linder. Unexpectedly, my lezzie excitement turned into dykey disappointment.

Allow me to explain why.

Jasmine (Natalie Krill) and Dallas (Miss Linder) are two women on the opposite sides of everything. If we're talking about stereotypes, Jasmine is the femme and Dallas is the butch. Jasmine works in the hyper-feminine fashion industry, while Dallas has an uber-masculine carpentry business. Jasmine is engaged to a man, while Dallas just broke up with her girlfriend. Want labels? Okay. Jasmine is straight (or so she thought), and Dallas is a lesbian (with a certain fascination for the phallic — f*ck that sh*t).

The moment their horny worlds collide, Jasmine and Dallas begin a salacious love affair. From there, we watch and listen as the film stumbles and mumbles its way into boredom and underachievement. To begin with, the film has the usual "straight-girl-falls-for-a-lesbian" plot. Nothing new. Audiences have already seen Piper Perabo fall for Lena Headey in Imagine Me & You. And if you're a well-versed lesbian, chances are you've already seen such plot in Desert Hearts.

Nevertheless, such tale as old as time could've been less predictable and more exciting if the director only knew how to tell it in a different, more original way.

Needs More Lezzie Passion

Below Her Mouth is supposed to be a passionate love story between two women. All I got was another softcore porn movie, the kind that you watch when you can't access PornHub. The film is in dire need of style and substance. The film also feels like a rejected episode of The L Word, or a desperate Canadian attempt to copy Julio Medem's Room in Rome.

Elena Anaya between Natasha Yarovenko's legs. A yummy scene from Room in Rome.

(Dallas can learn from Elena. She knows how to pleasure a woman sans anything phallic.)

Director April Mullen wasted a lot of opportunities to turn the film into a landmark lesbian movie. The promise of the premise was right there, but Miss Mullen wasn't able to make the story remarkable and meaningful.

Erika Linder exuded authenticity as Dallas because she's also lesbian and Swedish in real life. But maybe because she's a first-time movie actress, Miss Linder seemed to be having a hard time portraying Dallas in a compelling manner. (I guess the screenplay is also to blame.) 

Meanwhile, Natalie Krill is a talented actress and dancer. (And daym. She's got that dancer's body, alright.) Unfortunately, one may not be able to see her acting talent in this film. Her character, Jasmine, is too stereotypical and predictable — just like the film itself. Miss Krill's acting talent was wasted because of Jasmine's narrow characterization.

Together, Miss Linder and Miss Krill looked good. But that's just it. They just look good together. Nothing more. There was no chemistry nor connection.

If you're looking for passionate and female-friendly lesbian love scenes, I recommend Elena Undone, Fingersmith, and Kyss Mig.


The Pointless (Fake) P*nis

Lesbian erotica often caters to the male orgasm. And Miss Mullen's film is no different. Below Her Mouth doesn't have the "female gaze" that it claims. It's just another lesbo fest straight men like to ogle at. (I even found Blue is the Warmest Color more lesbian-oriented despite its male gaze.) As a lesbian, I wasn't convinced of the film's supposed female gaze. In fact, majority of the film seemed to target the male audience. It's because of Dallas' fake d*ck. That is so unnecessary.

(Yeah. But having a fake d*ck doesn't make you a legit lesbo.)

WTF was it with Dallas' dildo?! ("Dallas' dildo." Gee. That kinda rhymes.) What's the point? The film failed to express the point of the fake peen. The p*nis is pointless, especially if you're a full-blown lesbo like Dallas. The fake peen just doesn't fit well into the orifice of the movie's plotline.

"A cinematic voice to the female orgasm" is what some critics called the film. To me, Below Her Mouth felt like "a cinematic mumble about the male-inspired lesbian orgasm." It just doesn't feel like a lesbian movie for lesbian and bisexual women. I bet if you take out Erika Linder from the cast and replace her with someone like Lea Seydoux, Below Her Mouth would look and feel like your usual lesbian movie with a male gaze — which, apparently, is what it is.

So yeah, don't hold your breath to see what's "below her mouth" — because below her mouth is just her chin. Don't even bother ruminating about the title's meaning because it doesn't have any.


Trailer for Below Her Mouth:

DISCLAIMER: No copyright infringement intended. I don't own or claim to own any of the photos used.