Film Still from Desiree Akhavan's "Appropriate Behavior (2015)"
Hollywood has a long history of being whitewashed and heteronormative (catering towards straight, white audiences). But in recent years, more people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community have gone into the entertainment industry in order to share their stories and the stories of other marginalized people. In addition to more diversity in the director’s chair and the writing room, there is just an overall greater demand for better representation in the media. When compiling this list, I noticed that there were a lot of characters to choose from in regards to television, yet when it came to film, it was more sparse. The current examples of LGBTQ+ characters in film are much better than what existed in the past, but more variety is still needed. It was relatively easy to find films about gay men, but more difficult for Lesbian women and nearly impossible to find positive lead roles for Bisexual, Non-Binary, Transgender and Asexual characters, to name a few. Regardless, here is the list I complied of good feature length films that have lead characters who are LGBTQ+.
Moonlight (2016) - Chiron (Trevante Rhodes)
This film follows three distinct phases of Chiron’s life. It is a coming of age film that documents the growth of a young gay black man in a cruel world.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) - Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and Héloïse (Adèle Haenel)
Not only is the director/screenwriter of the film, Céline Sciamma, lesbian but her the actress who plays Héloïse, Haenel, is her long time muse and her ex. Their relationship on set mirriord the relationship between the character’s relationship on screen.
Uncle Frank (2020) - Frank Bledsoe (Paul Bettany) and Walid (Peter Macdissi)
From IMDB: “In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina, for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover, Walid.”
Sublet (2020) - Michael (John Benjamin Hickey)
From IMDB: “A New York Times travel writer comes to Tel Aviv after suffering a tragedy. The energy of the city and his relationship with a younger man brings him back to life.”
See You Soon (2020) - Jimmy Kurian (Roshan Mathew)
From IMDB: “A gay man travels across the country to spend the weekend with someone he's been talking to for months on a dating app, hoping to find the kind of romance that he grew up thinking he'd never get to experience.”
Pariah (2011) - Alike (Adepero Oduye)
From Pride: “This 2011 coming-of-age drama written and directed by Dee Rees tells the story of Alike, a 17-year-old black teenager who slowly embraces her identity as a lesbian. The film won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and has a 95% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.”
Disobedience (2018) - Ronit Krushka (Rachel Weisz)
From Advocate: “This intersectional, intimate look at a bisexual ex-Orthodox Jew who returns to her secluded community is moving, to say the least.”
Appropriate Behavior (2015) - Shirin and Maxine (Desiree Akhavan and Rebecca Henderson)
From Advocate: “As it's a deeply personal exploration of being a closeted bisexual in a traditional Persian family, it’s no wonder that the best film about a bisexual was made by one [Desiree Akhavan]”
The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) - Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz)
From Google: “In 1993 after teenage Cameron is caught in the backseat of a car with the prom queen, she is sent away to a treatment centre in a remote area called God's Promise. While she is being subjected to questionable gay conversion therapies, she bonds with some fellow residents as they pretend to go along with the process while waiting to be released.”
Margarita, with a Straw (2014) - Laila (Kalki Koechlin)
From Pride.com: "In this 2014 Indian drama, Laila, a young woman with cerebral palsy, embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, she falls in love, accepts her bisexuality, and comes out to her mother. The film won the NETPAC award at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, and Kalki Koechlin won Best Actress at the 2014 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The film has a 86% on Rotten Tomatoes."
References
"11 Movies About Queer Women That Are Actually Good". 2020. Pride.Com. https://www.pride.com/movies/2020/5/12/11-movies-about-queer-women-are-actually-good#media-gallery-media-7.
Carney, Brian. 2020. "Out Filmmaker Casts Ex In Lesbian Romance ‘Portrait Of A Lady On Fire’". Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights. https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/02/14/out-filmmaker-casts-ex-in-lesbian-romance-portrait-of-a-lady-on-fire/.
Dry, Jude. 2020. "The Best LGBTQ Characters Of 2020". Indiewire. https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/best-lgbtq-characters-film-tv-gay-lesbian-1234605198/.
Elizabeth Wolfe and Brian Ries, CNN. 2020. "There Are More LGBTQ Characters On Television Than Ever Before". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/16/entertainment/lgbtq-tv-representation-numbers-trnd/index.html.
"Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019) - Imdb". 2020. Imdb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8613070/.
"Sort By Popularity - Most Popular Movies And TV Shows Tagged With Keywords "Gay-Lead-Character", "Gay-Character" - Imdb". 2020. Imdb. https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/?keywords=gay-lead-character%2Cgay-character&sort=moviemeter,asc&mode=detail&page=1&ref_=kw_ref_key.
"The 10 Best Films With Bisexual Leads, Ranked". 2020. Advocate.Com. https://www.advocate.com/film/2018/9/29/10-best-films-bisexual-leads-ranked#media-gallery-media-11.
