SNL': Carey Mulligan Spoofs 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' & 'Ammonite' in Period Drama Sketch

[ShadeShadow]

Last night, Saturday Night Live tackled the recent upswing in the lesbian period movie subgenre with host Carey Mulligan, in a spoof that gently poked fun at recent releases like Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Ammonite. Featuring Mulligan opposite SNL's Heidi Gardner, the sketch shed a little humorous truth on the common conceit of two queer characters (often played by straight women) falling in love on screen. The best part of the sketch, however, was when cast member Kate McKinnon entered as the actual lesbian actress in the movie who plays the ex of one of the main female characters.

While Portrait of a Lady on Fire was an incredible movie directed by Céline Sciamma, it also seemingly ushered in this new era of period dramas where two white women (usually a blonde and a brunette) fall in love with each other and share a lot of glances and very little words. Time and time again, audiences are transported back in time to see these women pursuing a romance that the story considers forbidden — as well as the inclusion of a graphic sex scene that, sometimes, doesn’t make any logical sense and feels very indicative of the male gaze.

Image via NBC

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Another part of why this sketch works so well is because it doesn't shy away from the fact that audiences still go to see these movies. Sure, the fact that it’s now become a trend is a separate conversation altogether, but when you sit down to watch films like Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Ammonite, you know exactly what you’re going to get. But, as the sketch says, “you get one a year, make the most of it” because this is still where Hollywood ultimately is.