100 Nights of Hero starring Emma Corrin and Charli XCX brings a much-loved cult graphic novel to the big screen.
If you think fairy tales are just for children, then director Julia Jackman’s new film 100 Nights of Hero is here to change your mind. Adapted from Isabel Greenberg’s 2016 cult feminist graphic novel of the same name, this story is set on a world ruled by the vengeful, patriarchal god, Birdman. Women are seen as possessions; when the rich lord Jerome bets on his wife’s fidelity with his friend Manfred, they treat it as fun even though adulterous women are executed in this totalitarian society. Luckily, his wife Cherry has a resourceful maid, Hero, who knows how to thwart Manfred’s attempts at seduction. In a narrative that pays homage to Arabian folklore tale One Thousand and One Nights, Hero tells a bewitching story that distracts and enthrals both Cherry and Manfred.
Jackman read and loved Greenberg’s book when it was first published and had dreamt of adapting it for years. After writing a draft and putting it in a drawer to gather dust for a few years, she finally had a script ready to send out to actors to see if there was interest in 2024. There was lots and lots of interest. Felicity Jones signed on as the film’s narrator, while Emma Corrin and Maika Monroe took the roles of Hero and Cherry. Charli XCX makes her big-screen debut as Rosa, the heroine of the story that Hero uses to entertain Manfred. The Brat singer read the script and asked to meet with Jackman. “We had a lovely chat, and I could see her in this role,” Jackman told Screen Daily. During filming, Charli was “ devoted, open, collaborative. She was really in the thick of it.”
It’s easy to see what attracted these stars. This is a powerful story, funny and arch, yet unflinching in its portrayal of the pain humans inflict on each other. Jackman believes that this is because, at heart, this is a queer love story.
“There are no fixed roles in a queer story, nothing is taken for granted and everything is up for grabs. Queer people often also often use humor to cope in difficult situations. That’s the sexiness of queerness for me.”
The world where Hero and Cherry’s tale unfolds may be cruel, but it looks wonderful – reminiscent of the creme de la creme of British arthouse such as Peter Greenaway, Ken Russell and Derek Jarman. Costume designer Susie Coulthard has previously styled videos for the likes of FKA Twig and the Pet Shop Boys and that pop sensibility runs through the colors, corsets and hats that make these characters and scenes memorable. The headwear is particularly outstanding, created in part by collaboration with milliners Hood London but also by hunting through Etsy and religious supply stores. Hats have historically been used to show social status, but Coulthard has also confessed a pragmatic reason: hats get more screen time than any other wardrobe item.
For all its beautifully depicted dry humor, the ending of 100 Nights of Hero is not a traditional vision of happily ever after, and it’s all the stronger for it. As Jackman has said: “A lot of us in the queer community are upset and angry right now. A lot of my friends can’t travel to places that they want to travel to. People that I love very much don’t feel safe. So I think a loud and angry moment at the end for both of them feels cathartic. As far as I’m concerned, that ending is real and that magic is real.”
100 Nights of Hero is in cinemas now in the U.S. and is released 6 February in the U.K.
