The Drama: A Marriage of Discomfort and Empathy
This is not a film, it’s a drop tower. A drop tower that you don’t get off of for the vast majority of its 106-minute runtime.

A reflection on war, as seen through the lives of three Kurdish women belonging to the Kongreya Star movement—women who resist and dream, forging paths toward autonomy and empowerment at the heart of the conflict in Rojava, Syrian Kurdistan. A poetic testimony to the courage, solidarity, and indomitable hope that can spring forth even in a land ravaged by devastation.
This is not a film, it’s a drop tower. A drop tower that you don’t get off of for the vast majority of its 106-minute runtime.
There's no hiding the horrors of war in this inspiring story of survival
This short film was an overall creative success.
The “gay best friend”, an age-old trope, has been done in countless films and television series. Ranging from one-note (Sex and the City's Stanford and Mario) to nuanced (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Tituss), the gay best friend exists to support and advise the main protagonist, with their conflicts swept to the side.
Although Christmas is a time of year for love and cheer for all, holiday cinema has not always represented diverse communities. Being a holiday with Christian origins, much of its media consists of straight white families or straight white romances. Luckily, modern years have been bringing with them plenty of POC and LGBTQ+ representation that the holidays so desperately need.
Hustlers was meant to be a film about female empowerment. And it was, to a certain extent. I expected and wanted this to be a kickass and complex film of sexy women who use their confidence, skills, and wits towards a brilliant plan to get revenge on the Wall Street guys who wronged them.