QUEER CINEMA CLUB #21 : SET IT OFF
Genre
Crime, Drama
Language
VOSTF
Duration
120
Rating
Synopsis
In January, QCCMTL kicks off the year with a bang with Set It Off (1996), the cult film by F. Gary Gray that fuses action, social melodrama, and queer tragedy with a boldness still rare in 1990s Hollywood.
From the very first scenes, the film sets the tone: four women; Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise, stuck in a daily reality that’s pushed them to the limit, decide to take control in their own way.
And at the heart of the group is Cleo, played by Queen Latifah in an openly lesbian role, direct, charismatic, absolutely iconic. A rare queer presence at the time, portrayed without apology or euphemism, that left a mark far beyond the film itself.
Balancing adrenaline, humor, loyalty, and drama, Set It Off blends the spectacular with the intimate with a sincerity that gives it just as much power almost 30 years later. It’s an action movie, but also a story of survival, and chosen family.
A classic that still feels alive: vibrant, urgent, profoundly human.
Poster: Marc Roy
Release year
1996
Release date
January 22, 2026
Directed by
F. Gary Gray
Country
United States
Actors
Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, Blair Underwood