Recommendable LGBTQ films
Please note that while not all of these are necessarily life affirming or have a happy ending for the queer character involved, they are well made films that focus largely, if not entirely on their LGBTQ+ characters' experiences.
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- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerJared LetoIn 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.The only real sticking point of this film is the fact that the trans woman was played by a man. If you can accept Jared Leto as Rayon, then this easily one of the best films in recent years, let alone one of the best dramas about the AIDS epidemic.
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsJamie BellJulie WaltersJean HeywoodA talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.The queer character in the film isn't the main character himself, but I feel his bravery and drive to do what feels right to him, irrespective of whether or not it fits into his gender role is something that can really speak to LGBTQ+ audience members.
- DirectorTom FordStarsColin FirthJulianne MooreMatthew GoodeAn English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.A beautiful film about suicide and the value of life that miraculously manages not to be hamfisted about it, despite the fact that the director had no real prior experience behind the camera.
- StarsRachael StirlingKeeley HawesJodhi MayThe story of Nan Astley who falls in love with three different women on her journey to stardom and happiness in 1887 Victorian England.If you can accept the hammy acting, this is quite an enjoyable exploration of a turbulent time period in a young lesbian's life in the Victorian age. The ending was also far more intense than I was expecting.
- DirectorRyan MurphyStarsMark RuffaloJonathan GroffFrank De JulioIn the early 1980s, the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York led to an emergence of homosexual activists. With support from the medical community, they try to raise awareness about the disease.I may not be a fan of his television efforts, but Ryan Murphy sure can make a movie. Dramatizations of the AIDS crisis really don't get better than this (not in film anyway).
- DirectorShôgo FuruyaSatoshi KonStarsTôru EmoriYoshiaki UmegakiAya OkamotoOn Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.Hana may not get much respect from her companions or herself and she may sometimes play into stereotype, but I feel that her story and how it is presented fits right in line with the other protagonists. All three of them get a chance at being heroic and embody what the season is all about.
- DirectorRyan MurphyStarsJoseph CrossAnnette BeningBrian CoxA teenage boy comes of age in the 1970's, sent by his neurotic, pretentious mother to live with a jolly, vulgar psychiatrist and his eccentric extended family.The representation in this film is rather rough, but it should be. It is zany film based on a gonzo memoir that may or may not have been embellished. The heart of the story is more about family than love and I feel that the major takeaway from the film is that Augusten learns when to embrace something new and when to go his own way.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean PennJosh BrolinEmile HirschThe story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
- DirectorAbdellatif KechicheStarsLéa SeydouxAdèle ExarchopoulosSalim KechioucheAdèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
- DirectorPeter StricklandStarsSidse Babett KnudsenMonica SwinnChiara D'AnnaA woman who studies butterflies and moths tests the limits of her relationship with her lesbian lover.
- DirectorTravis FineStarsAlan CummingGarret DillahuntIsaac LeyvaIn the 1970s, a gay couple fights a biased legal system to keep custody of the abandoned mentally handicapped teenager that comes to live under their roof.
- DirectorSusanna FogelStarsLeighton MeesterGillian JacobsAdam BrodySasha and Paige's co-dependent friendship is tested as Paige gets serious with a guy for the first time.