25 most romantic LGBTQ films

Few films have captured the nature of thwarted and forbidden desire, like Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Depicting the love that emerges between a young aristocrat and the woman hired to paint her, the film is a sumptuous yet deeply haunting and moving look at the way that romance can bloom in even the most restricted of circumstances. Just as importantly, it is also about the raw power of creation and of artistic freedom. Both women chafe at the restrictions the patriarchal world imposes outside little sanctuary. Its final shot is designed to stay in the mind long after the film is over.

In the annals of LGBTQ+ cinema, Brokeback Mountain  looms large. As one of the most high-profile and critically acclaimed LGBTQ+ films, it’s a richly told and emotionally wrenching melodrama, anchored and given heft by the performances of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal and by the inspired direction of Ange Lee. With its story about two cowboys who fall in love and start a doomed romance in the 1960s and 1970s American West, it’s a haunting portrait of the extent to which social pressures can condemn even the most powerful of love. It is a beautifully and hauntingly tragic film that maintains its power even almost twenty years after its release.

Love, Simon is a touching portrait of gay teen life in the late 2010s. Based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, it focuses on the title character as he engages in an online romance with a person known only as Blue, even while also contending with the pressures of high school and the closet. Nick Robinson gives a moving and heartfelt performance as Simon, and it’s impossible not to cheer for him. The final scene on the Ferris wheel at the carnival is one for the romantic comedy history books, as he finally finds the love he’s so long been searching for. 

A Hulu original, Crush focuses on a love triangle between three young women: Paige Evans, Gabriela Campos, and AJ Campos. Given its setting, much of the film is as much about the process of growing up as it is about the first blushes of teenage love. For all of that, there is undeniable chemistry between the romantic leads, and there’s a heartfelt sense of humor to Crush that makes it appealing to audiences of all ages. Just as importantly, it takes its place among those films which show young people that love is possible and that the future is bright.

Shelter is one of those heartfelt indie gay dramas that emerged throughout the early 2000s. It focuses on Zach, a young artist and surfer, who unexpectedly reconnects with Shaun, his best friend’s older brother. Sparks soon fly between the two of them, but their romance is complicated both by Zach’s uncertainty about his sexuality and by his obligations to his family, in particular his sister and his young nephew. The film possesses a profound emotional authenticity, and there is clear and obvious chemistry between the two lead actors, both of which help make it one of the most romantic LGBTQ+ films. 

Latter Days is one of those opposites-attract stories that are so common in the history of romantic comedies. In this case, the opposites are gay playboy Christian and strait-laced Mormon Aaron. What begins as a deeply antagonistic relationship soon blossoms into a rich and resonant romance. Different as they are, both Christian and Aaron bring something unique to the table and their relationship to one another. In addition to being a fun, romantic, and touching film, Latter Days is a complex and textured examination of the conflict between religious faith and sexuality. 

Both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara deliver some of the finest performances of their careers in Carol, which focuses on a young store clerk, Mara’s Therese, who falls in love with an older, glamorous woman, Blanchett’s Carol. Thanks to their performances and the unique and finely-crafted direction of Todd Haynes, this becomes one of the most moving and touching depictions of same-sex love in the cinema. Of particular note is the extent to which their burgeoning love provides each of them a means of escaping from the prison of their existing relationships and the broader repressive society surrounding them. 

Billy Eichner brings his unique brand of charm and charisma to Bros, which he co-wrote and in which he starred. His character, Bobby, begins the film utterly convinced he’s happy alone. However, when he meets Luke Macfarlane’s Aaron, he soon finds his commitment to singlehood challenged. Despite their differences, the two start falling in love, though there are many hurdles along the way. While it follows many of the conventions of romantic comedy, there’s a genuine heart to Bros, and it is remarkable for the extent to which it shows the complexities, the joys, and the rewards of dating in the gay world. 

My Policeman is a profoundly moving period drama starring Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, and David Dawson as three people who find themselves caught up in a love triangle and must live with the consequences. The cast is uniformly excellent, and the film expertly points out the repressive nature of 1950s British society, in which homosexuality was still illegal. While  My Policeman has its sad moments, the powerful love between Styles’ Tom Burgess and David Dawson’s Patrick Hazlewood anchor it, demonstrating how love can survive even through the passing of time and the travails contained therein. 

Spoiler Alert, based on the memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies, by Michael Showalter, follows a gay couple, played by Jim Parsons and Ben Aldridge, as they contend with a terminal cancer diagnosis and what this means for their troubled relationship. The chemistry between Parsons and Aldridge is palpable, and they tease out the subtleties and difficulties of their respective characters. Moreover, the film is also a richly textured love story. While it doesn’t shy away from the sadness inherent in losing one’s partner to illness, it pays just as much attention to the obvious love these two men have for one another and the life they’ve built together. 

Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor are perfectly cast in this gay comedy, based on the true story of con artist Jay Russell, who went to extraordinary lengths to be reunited with his beloved Phillip Morris. Carrey is superbly cast as Russell, a man who just wants to be loved and will do almost anything to impress the object of his affection. McGregor, likewise, perfectly captures Morris’s wide-eyed innocence. It’s clear how much these characters truly love one another, and, as the icing on the cake, the film is also outrageously funny even as it is also deeply touching.

Based on the acclaimed novel by E.M. Forster, Maurice is a richly detailed story about Maurice, a young man growing up in the Edwardian period who struggles with his sexual identity in this notoriously repressive period of English history. After a disastrous youthful liaison with the dashing Clive, he finally finds true happiness with the working-class Alec. Like all Merchant Ivory productions, it’s a sumptuously appointed film, perfectly capturing the beauty and the stultifying nature of Edwardian society. More than anything, it captures the ache of longing, and unlike so many other gay dramas, it ends happily for Maurice and Alec. 

For too long, LGBTQ+ cinema has been a bit myopic in its views of race and diversity, and many of the most notable films dealing with the community and its interests have been restricted to white perspectives. This is what makes Fire Island so refreshing. A bold, fun, and hilarious retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice but set on Fire Island, it follows a group of friends as they find love on this famous gay utopia. It’s notable for highlighting the experiences and subjectivities of gay Asian Americans. Sweet, funny, and touching, it’s the type of romantic comedy the LGBTQ+ community has long deserved but for so long has been denied.

Single All the Way is one of the most high-profile of the many gay-themed Christmas movies slowly becoming a key part of the movie landscape. Focusing on a pair of friends who pretend to be boyfriends, it’s a perfect confection of a holiday movie. Michael Urie and Philemon Chambers are ideally cast as friends who slowly become boyfriends, and the film is also notable for its supporting cast, which includes such heavy hitters as Jennifer Coolidge, Kathy Najimy, and Luke Macfarlane. Like all such movies, it features a predictable plot, but it’s just such magical wish fulfillment that it’s impossible not to love it.

The Birdcage  remains one of the most beloved LGBTQ+ movies of the 1990s, thanks in no small part to the stellar performances from Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, who portray long-term gay couple, Armand and Albert. When their son begins dating the daughter of a very conservative senator, they have to put on an elaborate charade to convince her family that they’re straight. In addition to being an uproariously funny film,  The Birdcage is also surprisingly romantic, as it’s clear that Armand and Albert truly love and respect one another. Their years together have allowed them to fully appreciate themselves in all of their complexity, and it’s particularly touching to see them together. 

The 2010s and 2020s have been a remarkable period for trans visibility, and one of the more remarkable films in this regard is Boy Meets Girl. In small-town Kentucky, it focuses primarily on Ricky, a young trans woman who’s grown tired of her hometown and wants to experience life and love in New York. Matters get complicated when she meets a young woman and develops feelings for her, even as she finds herself drawn to her best friend, Robby. Touching and sweet, it’s one of those rare films where rural LGBTQ+ life isn’t marred or dominated by tragedy. It also has a happy ending, which is always refreshing in LGBTQ+ cinema.

God’s Own Country is, in some ways, the British version of Brokeback Mountain, focusing as it does on an English sheep farmer who begins a passionate affair with a migrant worker from Romania. There’s a rawness and immediacy to the emotions in this film, and it is buoyed by particularly powerful performances from Josh O’Connor and Alec Secăreanu and by its truly stunning cinematography, which perfectly captures a sense of place. Above all, the film is about the ability of intimacy, and physical desire, to change the lives of those living in isolated places and how such transformations are particularly significant for LGBTQ+ people. 

Long before he directed Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee showed his ability to tell LGBTQ+ stories with quiet grace in The Wedding Banquet. It’s a fascinating, touching, and emotionally resonant look at the conflict between tradition and modernity, focusing as it does on a Taiwanese immigrant who marries a woman, only for his parents to arrive in the US. Things are further complicated by the presence of his actual partner, another man. There are no easy answers in this film, and though Gao Wai-Tung and Simon genuinely love each other, they each have their struggles to overcome as they try to find happiness amid all of the chaos and misunderstandings. 

Moonlight is an achingly beautiful film, and it certainly deserves its Best Picture Oscar. It's a three-part story directed by Barry Jenkins, focusing on Chiron, a young gay African-American man. As the story unfolds, the film shows how he yearns for love and acceptance, even as he has to contend with the realities of American society and his own abusive mother. Though it can at times be difficult to watch, there is an aching compassion in this film, and the actors who portray Chiron at the three stages of his life–child, teenager, and adult–turn in performances that are full of empathy and rich, textured, glorious humanity. The bond between Chiron and a young man named Kevin proves to be one of the few steady things in the young man’s life, and their scenes together are some of the best in the film.

For many LGBTQ+ people, their first love is one that often has a profound effect on the rest of their lives. This is undoubtedly the case for Of an Age’s Kol, an aspiring dancer who, after an erotic encounter with his best friend’s elder brother Adam, finds that his entire life has been changed. Of an Age is a true gem of a film, and it understands intimacy to an extraordinary degree. Taking place in two different periods, the film shows the extent to which that first encounter left a lasting impact on Kol and how, even ten years later, he still finds himself irresistibly drawn to Aadm. Longing, love, and bittersweet nostalgia combine to make Of an Age one of the most romantic queer love stories of the 2020s.

The musical has long had a strong connection to LGBTQ+ audiences, but surprisingly, there aren’t many musicals focused specifically on this key constituency. This is precisely what makes Were the World Mine such a lovely film. It is, at heart, a queer retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, focusing on Timothy, a young gay man who yearns for Jonathon. When he’s magically granted a flower that can turn the whole town gay, chaos ensues. Though it can be silly at times, there’s still something touching about Timothy’s apparent desire for the hot jock, and, like all of the best musicals, it just happens to have a happy ending.

While many of the most famous LGBTQ+ films have come from the United States, Beautiful Thing is a true gem from the UK. It focuses on two working-class teens, Jamie and Ste, who find love even amid the difficulties of their rather grim surroundings. Set in South East London, the film has a keen sense of its setting, but what makes the film work is the undeniable chemistry between its two leads. Their love is the thing that makes each of their lives more bearable, and the film as a whole is a touching testament to the enduring power of young love. 

Set in London in the 1980s, My Beautiful Laundrette stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Johnny and Gordon Warnecke as Omar, a seemingly mismatched pair of lovers who nevertheless find love across their cultural differences. While Johnny is a street punk with unpleasant fascist connections in his past, Omar is the son of a Pakistani immigrant trying to make a go of it at a laundrette. It’s a poignant and beautifully shot film, and while the plot is important, the film itself seems far more invested in creating a sense of time and place, and it’s this grounded nature that gives the romance between Johnny and Omar a unique resonance.

The Way He Looks is a touching film from Brazil that follows a young blind man, Leonardo, who finds himself falling for Gabriel, the new, handsome student at school. Based on a short film, it is a touching and well-acted portrait of young love and innocence. The bond between the two young men is unaffected and all the better for it, and while there are some bumps in the road for the two of them, they nevertheless find their young love beginning to flourish. Like the best romantic movies, it gives both beloved characters a happy ending everyone can cheer for. 

The impermanence of love is the key theme of Weekend, a film where two British men, Russell and Glen, meet and have sex, only to find themselves drawn further into fraught emotional territory. Complicating matters is the fact that Glen is getting ready to leave for America, thus thwarting any long-term relationship that might emerge between the two. With its artful direction and cinematography, as well as the tremendous performances from Tom Cullen and Chris New, Weekend asks what it means to truly connect to another person, and it demonstrates how love — fleeting, aching, beautiful — can change a person forever even, and perhaps, especially when it is so tragically brief.