Representation of the LGBTQ+ community has been portrayed in movies through both the good and difficult experiences as shown in the Netflix TV series Heartstopper. Movies do the same by using a character coming to terms with his sexuality and what he is looking for in another.
These are the movies that cause viewers to experience deep emotions that can serve as a healthy cry for those that are still having trouble looking for the one. These movies capture what it is like to struggle to be in a same-sex relationship and adjust to change.
The Normal Heart (2014)
The autobiographical play by Larry Kramer was adapted into an HBO original movie directed by Ryan Murphy, starring Mark Ruffalo as Ned who leads the battle against AIDS. The movie speaks of the real-life crisis as the activist and writer Ned makes a change in the world by speaking for those denied by the government.
Although it is not an LGBTQ+ doc for pride month, it serves as a tragic reminder of the struggles within the LGBTQ+ community that are still faced to this day. Ned’s relationship with Matt Bomer’s Felix Turner is both beautiful and heartbreaking to watch as they support each other through a time of fear and uncertainty.
Boys In The Band (2020)
The movie takes place in 1968 New York about a group of friends all within the LGBTQ+ community who are persuaded to play a dangerous party game by their host Michael (Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons). This game is to call someone they truly love and admit their feelings to them.
This movie can be bitter-sweet as bonds are both formed and damaged much like in real life when true feelings are discovered. Hopeless romantics can relate to the feelings of love and pain shown in this movie.
Carol (2015)
Starring Cate Blanchet as the elegant mother and married woman Carol, she discovers that she has fallen in love with the mall worker Therese (played by Rooney Mara) giving the movie a women-loving-women storyline. The two form a relationship that not only puts Carol at risk of losing her daughter but also risks her newfound love, Therese.
As the movie takes place in the 60s, it invokes the feeling of running away from a society full of prejudice with a lover of the same gender. There is nothing more romantic and tragic than a forbidden love as demonstrated by these two women.
4th Man Out (2015)
On his 24th birthday, Adam (played by openly gay actor Evan Todd) comes out to his three best friends having Chris (Parker Young), Nick (Chord Overstreet), and Ortu (Jon Gabrus) adjust to the news. His relationship with Chris serves as the heart of the movie as he supports Adam in his dating life despite feeling hurt that he is just now learning that his best friend is gay.
Coming out can be a challenge at first and is captured through this film as Adam faces stereotypical expectations set by friends and the gay dating world. Although largely a coming out story, the time that Adam is seen dating makes you feel for the guy thanks to the discomfort shown through the character’s body language.
Looking: The Movie (2016)
A continuation of the HBO original series Looking, the movie has Patrick (Jonathan Groff), Dom (Murray Bartlett), and Agustin (Frankie J. Alvarez) reunite through a wedding. The story continues where the series leaves off as Patrick still has feelings for former lovers Kevin and Richie and is torn between the two.
The man who plays Kristoff and changed Disney’s old formula captures a hopeless romantic as he is still looking for love. Looking for love is something that all hopeless romantics as repressed by Parick and his questioning of what is best for him.
Single All The Way (2021)
In Netflix’s original 2021 Christmas movie, Peter brings his friend home to appear as if he is in a relationship despite not knowing that he is set up on a blind date with the new guy in town James. The family is split over whether he should be with James or his best friend Nick as they interfere in his love life to set him up with who they think is fit for him.
Despite being a Christmas Rom-Com, Single All The Way is an LGBTQ+ movie to watch during pride month. Feeling lonely at Christmas and the only one without someone special in the family captures the feeling of a romantic that is tired of feeling alone.
I Am Jonas (2018)
I Am Jonas is a French film about Jonas who thinks back to his traumatized past to the time he falls in love with the mysterious, carefree Nathan. This Netflix movie serves as a romance and drama as the flashbacks slowly build up to what happened to Nathan leaving Jonas haunted by their relationship.
The rise and fall of Jonas and Nathans’s relationship will have viewers in their feelings. This is a movie for those in need of a good cry for still loving someone who is no longer in their lives. It deals with the trauma of losing a loved one and moving away from that pain.
Weekend (2011)
The 2011 British film is about two men who fall in love after a one-night stand. The brief connection is bittersweet as Glen plans to leave the country after his weekend with the love-stricken Russell.
Watching the two protagonists bond makes viewers refuse to believe that their relationship would end so quickly. Falling in love can come out of nowhere and it can be extremely beautiful or extremely heart-wrenching depending on the situation. Falling in love with a stranger is a situation that one only imagines without the difficulties of trying to form a relationship as shown in this film.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Based on the coming-of-age novel of the same name created by Andre Aciman, the story is of a summer romance between Elio and his father’s intern student Oliver. Alongside Army Hammer as Oliver, this became one of Timothee Chalamet’s best movies thanks to his delivery as Elio and chemistry with his partner as they acted out a hidden romance together.
Viewers can find a connection with the 17-year-old Elio as he slowly falls apart trying to understand his emotions and himself. The emotions Elio goes through are ones experienced when a romantic relationship is forced to come to an end that can be hard to watch without crying.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Before putting on the iconic Joker face paint and Mysterio’s fishbowl helmet, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal perform in the 2005 romance movie that paved the way for LGBTQ movies today. One of the best movies about cheating and infidelity, Brokeback Mountain, sees Jack and Ennis form a deep bond with each other as they work together on a ranch.
Both actors showed the pain that they feel when they are apart and the guilt when they are with their wives. Many can relate to feeling forced into hiding their identity due to prejudice brought on by society. It’s a tragic love story but one that when viewed now shows the improvement that society has made on the views of same-sex relationships.
