LGBTQ+ rights have greatly increased over the last several decades. While there is still a long way to go in terms of social acceptance, and many same-sex couples are still too afraid to hold hands or show affection in public, it is clear that the LGBTQ+ community has advanced far closer to full legal equality in many areas of the world.
One way in which we can see increased social acceptance is in cinema, with several movies being released about people in the LGBTQ+ community over the last decade, in a display of growing acceptance and greater representation for the community. This article will list the 10 best LGBTQ+ movies of the past decade.
Booksmart
The highschool coming of age comedy had become a dry genre in recent years. For every Superbad and Perks of Being a Wallflower, there is an ill-thought-out and crass movie that relies on high school tropes and stereotypes to generate cheap laughs. Fortunately, Booksmart manages to avoid these traps by crafting an intelligent and fresh interpretation of the high school coming of age film.
Booksmart stars Kaitlyn Dever as Amy and Beanie Feldstein as Molly, while they try and make up for their lack of high school partying by attending a giant party at the end of the school year. The film handles Amy’s sexuality in a fantastic way, she has no internal struggle or issues of acceptance and this is refreshing and modern.
The Danish Girl
The Danish Girl is an adaption of the true story of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. The film follows the couple as their relationship is tested by Lili’s journey of self-expression as a transgender woman and one of the first people to receive sex reassignment surgery.
While the film was criticized for its historical accuracy (or lack thereof), the film was rightly praised for the strong performances of the case. Eddie Redmayne was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Lili and Alicia Vikander won an Oscar for her portrayal as Gerda Wegener.
Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of Ron Woodroof, a Texas cowboy who is diagnosed with HIV in 1985. As it was set in a time in which the HIV epidemic had just started, Woodroof was only given a month to live. The film shows the struggles of the character as he endures the stigma present at the time, some of which lingers to this day, and how Ron decided to track down treatments of his condition, whether they be legal or not.
The movie is an incredible account of one man’s struggle for acceptance in a world that does not understand his condition. The film not only captures the stigma of HIV-positive individuals in the 80s but also shows the stigma that they must endure today. In addition to the film’s stunning plot, Matthew McConaughey portrays the character of Ron Woodroof with such depth and heart that it may be the best performance of his career.
Carol
Carol is the acclaimed adaption of Patricia Highsmith’s novel entitled The Price of Salt. Starring Cate Blanchett as Carol and Rooney Mara as Therese, the film follows the young Therese as she forms a relationship with Carol, who is trapped in a loveless marriage.
The relationship between the two women evolves into a beautiful romance that perfectly captures the sense of shame that came with homosexuality in the 1950s. The movie was praised by critics for its sharp direction by Todd Haynes and strong performances from Blanchett and Rooney Mara.
Pride
Pride may be the most underrated movie on this list, perhaps due to the fact that it is an independent British movie that wasn’t subject to the wide release of many others. The film follows the true story of a group of lesbian and gay activists who form a campaign named Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, in an effort to show solidarity with the striking miners.
The film follows the main characters as they try to help a group that doesn’t want their help, due to homophobic beliefs. The movie is very uplifting, funny, and emotional. For those who haven’t seen it, you should certainly add it to your list and check it out as soon as possible.
Love, Simon
Love, Simon was a groundbreaking movie as it used the typical high school romance setting to normalize a gay love story. The film follows Simon as he comes to terms with his sexuality and attempts to find another gay individual in his school, who goes by the online nom de plume, Blue.
The film was a success both critically and commercially, with critics praising the strong performance from the main cast and the film’s marvelous ability to balance its important social messages with intelligent humor and strong poignancy.
The Favourite
The Favourite was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2018. The film, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, follows an ill Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) as she has her relationship with Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) tested after the arrival of Abigail Masham (Emma Stone).
The film balances fantastic humor with its tender and important subject matter in a masterful way and also features incredible performances from its cast, with Olivia Colman taking home an Oscar for her performance.
The Handmaiden
The Handmaiden is a South Korean crime thriller based on the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Director Park Chan-Wook changes the setting to 1930s Japan and Korea and tells the gripping story of Sookee, a young Korean woman hired to be the handmaiden of a Japanese woman (Lady Hideko), while also becoming involved in a plot to defraud the Japanese woman of her inheritance.
The film was praised for its strong performance of the cast, including Kim Min-Hee as Lady Hideko and Kim Tae-Ri as Sookee. The film is a visual marvel that is gripping from beginning to end.
Call Me By Your Name
2017’s Call Me By Your Name was a beautiful movie in every sense of the word. The film is set in a dreamy Italian town in the middle of the 1980s and captures a secret and subtle love between Timothée Chalamet’s Elio and Armie Hammer’s Oliver.
The film was a critical success, with critics praising the directing of Luca Guadagnino and the strong performances of Chalamet and Hammer. Due to this overwhelming critical success, the film went on to receive several Academy Award nominations, most notably a Best Actor nomination for Chalamet and a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination.
Moonlight
Moonlight is one of the most important movies of the last several years. The film was the first to win an Oscar with an all-black cast and an LGBTQ+ subject matter. The film follows the main character through three stages of his life as he endures emotional and physical abuse, as well as the internal struggle to accept his own sexuality and sense of masculinity.
While the film was not successful at the box office, it was a huge critical success. The film was praised for how it handled themes of masculinity and its intersections with blackness and sexuality, as well as the incredibly strong performances of the main cast, including Mahershala Ali, Trevante Rhodes, and Naomi Harris.
