Gay action films

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Keanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix star in this 20th-century retelling of Shakespeare's Henry IV and Henry V. Director Gus Van Sant guides his leads through a tense, melancholy exploration of intimacy, power, and uncertainty that never fails to deliver poignant reflection despite its adventure-fueled storyline.

Warner Bros. — O.W.

How to watch:Disclosure is streaming on Netflix.

32. But nothing can prepare you for Megan Thee Stallion's ode to putting alpha males in their place, or the madcap chaos of Megan Mullally's ad-libs, or even national treasure Nathan Lane spitting ham at his beloved Sewer Boys.

The women and nonbinary interviewees recount not only the horrific police violence and neighborhood harassment they constantly faced, but, and perhaps most significantly, they speak to how The Stroll helped them find a resilient community that enabled them to survive. Weaving hundreds of hours of archival footage into a cohesive narrative on the LGBTQ community's fight against biased healthcare practices, How to Survive a Plague bottles what it means to make societal change happen before it's too late.

Unlike some other characters, Paulo respects his identity and calls him by his chosen name. But that's not all. Brimming with quiet passion and yearning, and lit stunningly by master cinematographer Robert Elswit, Desert Hearts is a must-watch for any lover of queer cinema. Come for the lesbian fight club, stay for the gratuitously bloody conclusion.

Stream on MGM+.

Photo: Yorgos Lanthimos/Fox Searchlight / Everett Collection

Shout-out to Yorgos Lanthimos for giving us everything we didn’t know we so desperately needed: an absurdist depiction of 18th-century England starring Olivia Colman as a gay Queen Anne that confronts the anxieties of womanhood while remaining just a bit silly the whole time.

Stream on Disney+.

Photo: ©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s a family drama, a romance, a coming of age.

The film will make everyone who did not get to see Newsome’s multimedia production in person regretful yet grateful that this fabulous film exists to show them what they missed. Domingo is equally tender and hilarious, giving a performance that really elevates the script.

Photo: Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

This Taiwanese Netflix original follows a 13-year-old boy, Chengxi (Joseph Huang), whose absent father has just died.

Despite some of the heartbreaking moments, it’s not a sad story at all — in fact, it’s a life-affirming ode to the worthiness of real, serious love.

Stream on Tubi.

Photo: ©Fine Line Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

This sweet love story is as much a coming-of-age film as it is a tender sapphic romance.

9. Daniela Vega plays a woman who loses her partner unexpectedly. Swan Song (2021)

Inspired by the real-life "Liberace of Sandusky, [Ohio]," Swan Song stars heralded character actor Udo Kier as a Mr. Pat, a retired and unapologetically flamboyant hairdresser out to secure his legacy with one last hurrah of a hairdo.

In the gay period drama from beloved and recently out gay filmmaker James Ivory (who wrote the screenplay for Call Me by Your Name), we follow a young man's journey of sexual acceptance in 20th-century London. — A.F. Wilhelmina “Wil” Pang (Michelle Krusiec) is a young, talented surgeon on track to become chief of surgery at her hospital.