Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid has him writing, directing and acting. Ethel Cain is on the soundtrack. Actual New York club kids were recruited through Grindr. Cara Delevingne plays a main character alongside a ten-year-old boy. Are you ready?
Club Kid is Jordan Firstman‘s first feature film as a director, but he’s been making films for years, including the short films Call Your Father and Men Don’t Whisper. You might also know him from I Love LA, where he plays Charlie. This time, he’s Peter, a New York party promoter living his best life somewhere between the dance floor, questionable decisions and one too many afters. Then he discovers he has a ten-year-old son, Arlo (Reggie Absolom), whose mother has just passed away.
Peter has spent years building a life around parties, hookups and doing pretty much whatever he wants. Now he has a child to look after, and the film follows the two as they try to figure out what being a family could look like. Cara Delevingne plays Sophie, Peter’s business partner, while Diego Calva also joins the cast. The situation of course doesn’t get the fairytale ending here – child protective services eventually entering the picture and questioning whether this unexpected reunion is actually in Arlo’s best interests.
The film runs for 122 minutes, and several early reviews point to its final half-hour as its most emotional stretch. So don’t go in expecting two hours of uninterrupted club scenes and funny Grindr references. There’s a proper family drama in there, too.
Club Kid and being queer by our own rules
In an interview, Firstman talked about wanting to tell a story about what it means to be queer and to grow up when you don’t necessarily have to follow the usual script. As queer people, we often make our own rules about how we want to live. There’s less of an automatic pressure to have children by a certain age or follow a particular timeline, so sometimes we just enjoy life, perhaps a little thoughtlessly. But eventually you can reach a point where you know you don’t want one version of life, and you don’t necessarily want the other either. You’re left somewhere in between, in what Firstman describes as a grey area.
Club Kid puts a child right in the middle of that grey area. Peter has built a life around nightlife, freedom and doing things on his own terms. Then Arlo arrives, bringing a completely different kind of responsibility into a world that wasn’t exactly designed to accommodate it. What does that do to Peter’s life, and what happens when the two worlds have to exist together?
And I think quite a few of us would enjoy playing with this hypothetical. You’re living your life to the fullest in New York, promoting parties, knowing everyone, being in the middle of everything. Then suddenly you have a ten-year-old kid who’s also VERY COOL. You might love your life, but would you be willing to change it for someone else?
Grindr as a casting platform?
Firstman brought actual people from New York’s club scene into the production, including friends and familiar faces from the nightlife community. The idea was to capture the way people really talk, dress and interact in those spaces, rather than have actors imitate a scene they don’t belong to.
During the final night of shooting, the production needed more people for a club scene and couldn’t find anyone else to call. So they opened Grindr, messaged people nearby and offered $100 to join the shoot. This is genuinely one of the best casting ideas I’ve heard in a while. Imagine checking your messages and getting invited to be an extra in a Jordan Firstman film. Not only do you get paid, you get to spend the night on set with Cara Delevingne and the rest of the cast. I wish I’d been in the neighbourhood.
Ethel Cain, Massive Attack and the Club Kid soundtrack
The music choices are already getting people talking, especially Ethel Cain’s appearance in the trailer. Firstman has also shared some of his personal picks: his choice would be Massive Attack’s Teardrop, while Reggie Absolom picked Wolf in the Breast by Cocteau Twins. That’s quite a combination, and it gives you an idea of the film’s musical territory.
The wider soundtrack moves between different decades and genres, with artists including Cocteau Twins, Slayyyter, Death Grips, Kelela and Elliott Smith. The choices aren’t just there to make the club scenes look cool. They help move the film between its more chaotic and intimate moments. One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re emotional, and then you’re ready to get back on the dance floor.
Visually, Firstman looked towards the 1970s, and ’90s, with After Hours being one of his references. The film was shot on 35mm, giving New York a grainier, more textured look than the usual glossy city backdrop. Firstman has also spoken about putting his own fees back into the production to help make the film happen.
Club Kid: Made for the New York crowd
Firstman has said he hopes New Yorkers will recognise the world he’s put on screen, especially the people who know the city’s nightlife from the inside. But you don’t have to know every reference or have spent your weekends at the same clubs to get something out of it. The story of someone trying to figure out adulthood while their entire routine gets turned upside down is hardly exclusive to one city.
Since its premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Club Kid has screened at several festivals and collected awards, including the Grand Special Prize and Audience Award at Deauville, as well as recognition at the Chicago and Hamptons film festivals. IMDb currently lists 4 wins and 9 nominations for the film. On Letterboxd, it has a 4.3/5 average rating, based on around 19,700 ratings at the time of writing.
The film arrives in French cinemas on November 4, with its US theatrical release following on November 6 through A24. Two hours of New York nightlife, Ethel Cain, 35mm film, unexpected fatherhood and a Grindr casting call. Personally, I’m already sold.