Gay couple movie

Critics Consensus: Anchored by Sean Penn's powerhouse performance, Milk is a triumphant account of America's first openly gay man elected to public office.

From the moment they meet, it’s clear that there’s an attraction between Christian and Aaron, though it takes them quite a while to realize it and to accept what it means for them both as individuals and as a potential couple. Their relationship is a slow burn, but it becomes clear that each is a haven for the other, and it melts the heart to watch their friendship blossom into something more.

The final pairing, with Trevante Rhodes as Chiron and André Holland as Kevin, lands like an arrow in the heart as the two finally find peace in one another’s arms.

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Maurice and Alec

Even though E.M. Forster’s novel Mauricewasn’t published until after his death, it has nevertheless enjoyed a long legacy, thanks in no small part to the Merchant Ivory film from 1987.

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Starring: Cecilia Roth, Eloy Azorín, Marisa Paredes, Penélope Cruz

Directed By: Pedro Almodóvar

Critics Consensus: With stunning honesty that's achingly bittersweet, Joyland tackles gender and sexual fluidity in a repressed patriarchal society with wisps of hopefulness.

Synopsis: After the death of her mother, teenage Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is sent off to a boarding school run by the [More]

Starring: Hertha Thiele, Dorothea Wieck, Emilia Unda

Directed By: Leontine Sagan

Critics Consensus: Endearing and heartfelt, Will & Harper is an ode and testament to long-lasting love, acceptance and evolution within a friendship.

Theirs might not be an enduring relationship, but it is still a powerful one, thanks in no small part to the performance from Timothée Chalamet, who nicely captures Elio’s youthful longing.

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Chiron and Kevin

Moonlightmore than deserves its critical reputation, and it deserved its Best Picture Oscar.

Under then-CEO Wonya Lucas, the network was committed to more authentic, inclusive storytelling — and for a few years, we were genuinely excited by the progress.

But with several shake-ups in leadership since 2022, that momentum has slowed.

Synopsis: Since her sister's disappearance, Jax (Lily Gladstone) has cared for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) by scraping by on the [More]

Starring: Lily Gladstone, Isabel Deroy-Olson, Ryan Begay, Shea Whigham

Directed By: Erica Tremblay

Critics Consensus: Framed by great work from director Sidney Lumet and fueled by a gripping performance from Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon offers a finely detailed snapshot of people in crisis with tension-soaked drama shaded in black humor.

Their story is evidence that love truly can flourish anywhere.

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Carol and Therese

Todd Haynes has long been a director with a keen sense of cinematic style, and he brings his considerable skills to bear in Carol, his adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt.Cate Blanchett shines as Carol, a wealthy middle-aged woman who falls in love with Rooney Mara’s Therese, a store clerk.

As so often in Austen-inspired fiction, however, there’s more than a little attraction there, too, and it’s not long before their bickering turns to something more.

Synopsis: The Ranas--a happily patriarchal joint family--yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line. Even without this closure, however, there’s still much to love about this couple, who manage to be so different but still manage to find a connection that means a lot to both of them.

In addition to being quite funny, the romantic comedy Fire Islandis a whip-smart adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Among other things, it provides a fascinating look at the lives of two working-class British teens who manage to find love even amid their rather dreary living conditions.

Synopsis: Celebrated filmmaker Ira Sachs (Love is Strange) makes a breathtaking return with PASSAGES, a fresh, honest and brutally funny take [More]

Starring: Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Erwan Kepoa Falé

Directed By: Ira Sachs

Critics Consensus: Pulsing with authenticity and led by a stirring lead performance from Adepero Oduye, Pariah is a powerful coming out/coming-of-age film that signals the arrival of a fresh new talent in writer/director Dee Rees.

Synopsis: World-famous pianist Liberace (Michael Douglas) takes much-younger Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) as a lover, but the relationship deteriorates when Liberace [More]

Starring: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Scott Bakula

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

Critics Consensus: Thanks to Emmy-worthy performances from a reputable cast, The Normal Heart is not only a powerful, heartbreaking drama, but also a vital document of events leading up to and through the early AIDS crisis.

Synopsis: Best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö work after school at a food court smoothie kiosk, frankly swapping stories of their frustrations [More]

Starring: Aamu Milonoff, Linnea Leino, Sonya Lindfors, Cécile Orblin

Directed By: Alli Haapasalo

Critics Consensus: Buoyed by Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff's appealingly sweet performances, A Nice Indian Boy navigates cultural mores and romance with an infectiously kind heart.

Synopsis: In the absurdist autobiographically-inspired dark comedy, a painfully unfunny aspiring clown (Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin) grapples with her [More]

Starring: Vera Drew, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Griffin Kramer

Directed By: Vera Drew

Critics Consensus: In tune with the emotion and tribulations of childhood, Tomboy is a charming movie that treats its main subject with warmth and heart.

Fortunately, however, not even the restrictions and homophobia of midcentury America can quench their love. The film is a remarkable example of the “be gay do crimes” model of storytelling, and the committed performances from both Stewart and O’Brian really help it stand out from the crowd. Though the film is clearly a farce and, as such, goes for the laughs, there’s a genuine heart here, too, and it’s clear how much the charade costs both Armand and Albert as they try their best to do what they can for their son.

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Our list of the 200 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of All Time stretches back 90 years to the pioneering German film, Mädchen in Uniform, which was subsequently banned by the Nazis, and crosses multiple continents, cultures, and genres.

Synopsis: A gay man's (Tom Cullen) weekend-long encounter with an artist (Chris New) changes his life in unexpected ways.

Synopsis: When inexperienced criminal Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) leads a bank robbery in Brooklyn, things quickly go wrong, and a hostage [More]

Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon

Directed By: Sidney Lumet

Critics Consensus: Bridging times past with issues that are still current, Blue Jean resonates intellectually and emotionally thanks to thoughtful direction and authentic performances.

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Starring: Pat Henschel

Directed By: Chris Bolan

Critics Consensus:We Were Here revisits the crises facing the gay community in the early 1980s -- and offers a powerful tribute to the inspiring resolve shown at a time of turmoil.

Remarkably, for an LGBTQ+ movie of this era — the film was released in 1985 — the two male leads don’t meet tragic fates.