‘Queens Of The Qing Dynasty’ Review – Darkly Beautiful And Sublime

Directed By: Ashley McKenzie

Starring: Sarah Walker, Ziyin Zheng

Plot Summary: A suicidal teen develops a rapport with the student from Shanghai assigned to watch her in the hospital. A nightly exchange of secrets, text messages, and possessions expands the boundaries of the relationship and alters inner chemistry.

Queens of the Qing Dynasty really checks a lot of boxes for me right away. Queer-centric? Check. Directed by a woman? Check. It also talks about neurodiversity, a subject that you rarely see, or see portrayed well. Director Ashley McKenzie is certainly known for her bold and unflinching look at, and celebration of, the outsiders. Queens of the Qing Dynasty brilliantly sways from darkly funny to bittersweet and holds you in its grips for its entire runtime.

It’s also a film that has been rolling around in my gray matter ever since the credits rolled. McKenzie is able to, with amazing ease, bring you into the world of Star (Sarah Walker), a neurodivergent teen who we meet whilst being treated for a suicide attempt. She meets An (Ziyin Zheng), a volunteer who is looking after her in the hospital. An is a Queer person who longs to be a kept trophy husband, much like the women of the Qing Dynasty. An is not just a “gay best friend”, and we see him as a fully formed person with a thriving love life.

McKenzie doesn’t soften things for the audience, and indeed Star’s blank thousand-yard stare and at times uncomfortable musings feel like an authentic way to tell this story without it getting into cheap exploitation. In lesser hands, you could easily see this getting into Music territory. If you’re lucky enough not to know, Music was a failed Sia film, which depicted a girl with autism. The depiction was considered by the community to be so badly handled it was offensive.

Here, we get a fleshed out and complex character in Star, and her neurodiversity is never the total sum of the narrative. Wisely, it serves as background to an unconventional friendship and in a way, a love story. Like Star, An is such an interesting character, and the film allows for time to really get to know him in a way that feels meaningful. You never get the feeling that An is a stereotype. He is afforded respect from the nonjudgmental lens of McKenzie. Together, the two complete something missing in one another, which is a strong narrative jumping off point. Interestingly, the film also heads in some unexpected places, with an ending that feels both sad and sublime.

When we recount the bold and devastating performances of this year, audiences will no doubt conjure up Sarah Walker as Star. Walker gets to the very core of this character, while never making her offensively one-note. It truly speaks to trusting your director, and in turn your actor to tackle a neurodivergent character in a way that feels realistic and respectful. Thankfully, Star feels like a fully fleshed out person, and not some insensitive Wikipedia summary as seen in other films. Ziyin Zheng also turns in a nice performance, and it’s impressive that it is his first acting role. Separately they are great, but together the two have a startling chemistry that is the glue that binds this film together.

If there is a minor complaint to address, it would be that the pacing is a bit much at times. At two-hours long, some scenes feel too long or maybe not useful at all. Though, it is appreciated that McKenzie gives plenty of breathing room to flesh out An and Star. Queens of the Qing Dynasty is a haunting, funny and richly told story that deserves more attention.

Queens of the Qing Dynasty is currently playing in select theaters courtesy of Factory 25 with further expansion in the coming weeks. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgTZ6xeLnEg]