A hyper-stylised, highly theatrical look at identity, masculinity and gender, Amanda Kramer’s 1950s Manhattan-set tale is an idiosyncratic, inventive ride. Andrea Riseborough and Harry Melling play Suze and Arthur, a couple who witness a murder committed by a leather-wearing street gang known as the ‘Young Gents’. These thugs are clearly channelling Marlon Brando’s biker in The Wild One with their outfits, while their violent actions send this pair on a strange, self-reflective odyssey. Arthur is left particularly confused: ‘I’m a man. I just don’t feel the need to act male,’ he muses.

In the gang is the hunky Teddy (Karl Glusman), a character who seems to draw both the pair into his orbit, while upstairs from Suze is her lavish neighbour (played by Demi Moore, with unrestrained glee). Taking place on neon-lit sets that deliberately amp up the artificiality, Kramer’s film clearly nods to the likes of John Waters, but it lacks the same outrageous punch of a Pink Flamingos or Desperate Living. That said, Riseborough gives everything, especially in one S&M-tinged fantasy-dance routine, and Melling finds real soul in his character. While it’s too niche for mainstream audiences, Please Baby Please is destined for cult appreciation, especially among the LGBTQ+ community. 

Everyman, 18 August, 8pm; Filmhouse, 19 August, 4.45pm.