Despite being somewhat of an embarrassing read (go here for a few NSFW but ridiculous excerpts), 50 Shades of Grey has proved to be an insanely popular book. So popular is the title that it is now officially the best selling book of all time, outselling all of the Harry Potter novels.

And, on the back of that sales success, 50 Shades of Grey will soon be hitting the big screen featuring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as the main characters.

Sadly, on top of the god awful writing that the film is based on, both of those characters are miserably heterosexual, leaving queer viewers out in the cold if they’d like to see some same sex BDSM action.

Duke of Burgundy could be a very good, very queer alternative to that.

Described as a “dark melodrama” that “follows the intense relationship between two women”, the official synopsis also states that Duke of Burgundy is about

“A woman who studies butterflies and moths tests the limits of her relationship with her lover in Peter Strickland’s third feature film, following Katalin Varga and Berberian Sound Studio. The Duke Of Burgundy is produced by Andrew Starke for Ben Wheatley’s Rook Films.”

With one woman being a wealthy butterfly collector and the other being a housekeeper, there’s a definite power play happening here. Though, according to those who’ve seen the film (it aired at the Toronto International Film Festival in September) the tables turn and the lines of the power dynamic soon become as skewed as ever.

Furthermore, while films like Blue is the Warmest Colour have both failed and disappointed due to their portrayals of women having sex, Duke of Burgundy seems unlikely to do the same.

Critics have taken to the picture well, with “It’s a considerable work of art”, “Visually ravishing, emotionally wise” and “Knudsen and D’Anna are both terrific, and have tremblingly palpable chemistry” being just a few examples of its praise.

Duke of Burgundy will be released in the UK on the 6th of February, 2015.

https://vimeo.com/106584379