Yahoo Lifestyle The 27 Best Movies Featuring Lesbian Characters
- 1/28
The 27 Best Movies Featuring Lesbian Characters
There are so many more movies about gay characters than there used to be, but sometimes it feels like we're making up for lost time by setting them all in the past. You know how it seemed for a second that every new movie with lesbian characters was set multiple decades, if not centuries, in the past with like... lots of longing looks over candlelight? No disrespect to history, but not every sapphic movie has to be a historical drama! We've compiled some of the best, just for you. Some of them are old-timey lesbians, but we're keeping that energy to a minimum.
FYI that inclusivity in film is technically on the rise. The 2021 edition of the GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index, which "maps the quantity, quality, and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) characters in films released by eight major motion picture studios" and "four subsidiaries of these major studios" in order to increase quality LGBTQ+ representation in film found that while the sample size was low (there were fewer films released in general in 2020) and only 44 films were released by the major studios and subsidiaries studied, representation increased 4.1 percent.
With that in mind, check out some of the best movies featuring lesbian characters, below.
KC Bailey - Netflix - 2/28
1) 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' (2019)
Let's get the candlelight lesbians out of the way with the best example of that random trope. This gorgeous film has a sad ending—but thankfully not a tragic one. It's like... a wistful Taylor Swift's folklore-kind of melancholy.
NEON@Youtube - 3/28
2) 'The Children's Hour' (1961)
The '60s adaptation of the stage play does not have a happy ending, kicking off an unfortunate pattern long before the phrase "kill your gays" entered the conversation. But if film history, and how it pertains to LGBTQ+ history, interests you then it's a worthwhile watch.
Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers@Youtube - 4/28
3) 'Crush' (2022)
Flash-forward to this decade, and queer relationships are so much more accepted that cute little sapphic romantic comedies can drop on Hulu for us to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon. A win!
Hulu@Youtube - 5/28
4) 'Colette' (2018)
Kiera Knightley has done so many period dramas, we barely blink an eye—but this one is different! Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was real author, performer, and woman about town who had romantic relationships with men, women, and famously a nonbinary or trans person (they did not specify at the time with the language we use today) named Mathilde "Max" de Morny aka "Missy," played in the film by Denise Gough.
Bleecker Street@Youtube - 6/28
5) 'She's Gotta Have It' (1996)
With this movie, Spike Lee basically said What if the romantic comedy best friend stereotype was gay? While not everyone agrees on whether or not Opal is "good" representation, it's an iconic film and should be part of this collective.
JoBlo Streaming & TV Trailers@Youtube - 7/28
6) 'Best in Show' (2000)
I know we're all obsessed with Jennifer Coolidge right now, so why not watch her play half of a dog-loving lesbian couple with Jane Lynch? It's so good.
Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers@Youtube - 8/28
7) 'Birds of Prey' (2020)
Not only are Renee Montoya and Ellen Yee exes in this movie, but Harley herself lets us know early on that she is bisexual. It's a whole lot gayer than *ahem* some other recent comic book movies and hopefully... hopefully... one day we'll get a sequel with the Harley/Poison Ivy romance we deserve!
Warner Bros. Pictures@Youtube - 9/28
8) 'The Favourite' (2018)
This isn't about a forbidden romance or any love is love fantasy. It's about historic lesbians who are just as rude, jealous, conceited, ambitious, codependent, and as messy as everyone else.
SearchlightPictures@Youtube - 10/28
9) 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' (2018)
SearchlightPictures@Youtube - 11/28
10) 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' (2022)
The tension between a mother's unwillingness to acknowledge her daughter's girlfriend causes some of the initial conflict in this wild, weird, swirling movie.
A24@Youtube - 12/28
11) 'The Old Guard' (2020)
Gina Prince-Bythewood's action movie, adapted from an indie comic about immortal mercenaries, features many openly gay characters and an honest-to-goodness romance between two of the men in the group. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until the sequel to see Andy (Charlize Theron) reunite with her girlfriend Quỳnh.
Netflix@Youtube - 13/28
12) 'Carol' (2015)
StudiocanalUK@Youtube - 14/28
13) 'Certain Women' (2016)
The lesbian storyline in Kelly Reichardt's thoughtful film only takes up 1/3 of the movie, but it's about a woman (Lily Gladstone) having a crush on Kristen Stewart. Need I say more?
Zero Media@Youtube - 15/28
14) 'Kissing Jessica Stein' (2001)
This '00s romantic comedy is a tad dated but incredibly charming. It's about a straight woman who answers a woman-seeking-woman ad and the relationship that follows. IMHO, star and screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt is one of our most underrated filmmakers.
OUTtv@Youtube - 16/28
15) 'But I'm a Cheerleader' (1999)
Lionsgate Movies@Youtube - 17/28
16) 'Imagine Me & You' (2005)
FlicktipCom@Youtube - 18/28
17) 'The Hours' (2002)
There's a lot of period lesbian angst in this film, and then there's Meryl Streep and Allison Janney living their best lives in domestic bliss.
Miramax@Youtube - 19/28
18) 'Booksmart' (2019)
ANNAPURNA@Youtube - 20/28
19) 'The Kids Are Alright' (2010)
Focus Features@Youtube - 21/28
20) 'The Watermelon Woman' (1996)
Written, directed, edited, and starring Cheryl Dunye, this film is about a woman who works on a documentary about an unidentified actress who played a racial stereotype in a film from the '30s and discovers she was a prominent lesbian back in the day.
Peccadillo Pictures@Youtube - 22/28
21) 'The Handmaiden' (2016)
This one's a (1) psychological (2) erotic (3) thriller, so get your mind right.
Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing@Youtube - 23/28
22) 'Happiest Season' (2020)
This somewhat recent lesbian Christmas romantic comedy caused some controversy. Are Harper and her family too mean? Are coming-out stories kind of basic in 2020? Should Abby have ended up with Riley instead? (The answer is yes.) But whatever you think (come on, Audrey Plaza was RIGHT THERE), no one film has to be everything, and it's still a great movie to watch and fight over.
Hulu@Youtube - 24/28
23) 'The Half of It' (2020)
Netflix@Youtube - 25/28
24) 'Life Partners' (2014)
Leighton Meester plays a lesbian in a codependent friendship with Gillian Jacob's character (who's straight), and she starts to spiral when her BFF starts spending more and more time with her boyfriend. It's awkward and heartbreaking and a really good all-around watch.
Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing@Youtube - 26/28
25) 'Pariah' (2011)
Dee Rees's coming-of-age and coming-out drama deservedly won an Image Award and put the director on the map.
Rotten Tomatoes Trailers@Youtube - 27/28
26) 'Saving Face' (2004)
Director Alice Wu, who also made The Half Of It, started out with this coming-out dramedy.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment@Youtube - 28/28
27) 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' (2013)
IFC Films@Youtube
Looking for a great movie about lesbian characters to watch? Look no further. Here are the 27 best lesbian movies, from 'Carol' to 'Happiest Season.'
