Updated February 7, 2020 89 votes 24 voters 35 items
The greatest LGBTQ+ drama movies offer strong stories, memorable characters, and emotional payoffs that stick with you long after they're over. They focus on a variety of subjects and approach them in both subtle and more overt manners. They come from big studios and independent distributors. The top LGBTQ+ drama movies, like Brokeback Mountain and Moonlight, have even found themselves nominated for -- or winning -- Academy Awards. In every way, these are some of the most important movies of our time.
This list includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning people dramas. Vote up the best LGBTQ+ drama films to make sure they make it to the top of the list and vote down any movies that you didn't like. If you have a particularly dramatic favorite that's not on the list, add it, then check back to see how other users are rating your choice.
Moonlight is a 2016 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play. A chronicle of the childhood, ...more
Armie Hammer, Timothee Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg
Call Me by Your Name is a 2017 Italian-American romantic coming-of-age drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino, based on Andre Aciman's novel of the same name. In 1980s Italy, a romantic ...more
Desert Hearts is a 1985 lesbian-themed romantic drama film loosely based on the Jane Rule novel Desert of the Heart. Directed by Donna Deitch, the film stars Helen Shaver and Patricia ...more
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 American epic romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx; the screenplay was written ...more
BPM (Beats per Minute) is a 2017 French drama film directed by Robin Campillo. Members of the advocacy group ACT UP Paris demand action by the government and pharmaceutical companies to combat ...more
My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The film was also one of the first films released by Working Title ...more
My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 American independent drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V, and starring ...more
Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent romantic drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen. The film is a dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena, ...more
Alexandra Dahlström, Ralph Carlsson, Erica Carlson
Show Me love is a 1998 Swedish film directed by Lukas Moodysson. The film follows the lives of two seemingly disparate teenage girls who begin a tentative romantic relationship. The film first ...more
Mary-Louise Parker, Tony Shalhoub, Dermot Mulroney
Longtime Companion is a 1990 film directed by Norman René and starring Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, and Mary-Louise Parker. The first wide-release theatrical film to ...more
Maurice is a 1987 British romantic drama film based on the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster. It is a tale of homosexual love in early 20th century England, following its main character ...more
Penélope Cruz, Fernando Fernan Gomez, Antonia San Juan
All About My Mother is a 1999 Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film deals with complex issues such as AIDS, homosexuality, transsexualism, faith, and ...more
Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Frank Pierson, and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, ...more
Carol is a 2015 British-American romantic drama film directed by Todd Haynes, based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. In 1950s New York, aspiring photographer Therese Belivet ...more
The Boys in the Band is a 1970 American drama film directed by William Friedkin. The screenplay by Mart Crowley is based on his Off Broadway play of the same title. It is among the first major ...more
Personal Best is a 1982 movie centered on a group of women trying to qualify for the American track-and-field team bound for the 1980 Olympic Games. Despite their commitment to their training ...more
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film and one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner, directed by ...more
Forest Whitaker, Jim Broadbent, Miranda Richardson
The Crying Game is a 1992 British psychological thriller drama film written and directed by Neil Jordan. The film explores themes of race, gender, nationality, and sexuality against the backdrop ...more
Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Raymond Anthony Thomas
Pariah is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by Dee Rees. Alike (Adepero Oduye), a 17-year-old African American, learns to embrace her identity as a lesbian.
The Ground Beneath My Feet is a 2019 Austrian drama film directed by Marie Kreutzer. A business consultant, Lola (Valerie Pachner) is on the fast track to success when a tragic event forces her ...more
Levan Gelbakhiani, Bachi Valishvili, Ana Javakishvili
And Then We Danced is a 2019 Swedish-Georgian drama film directed by Levan Akin. Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani) has been training at the National Georgian Ensemble with his partner Mary (Ana ...more
A Single Man is a 2009 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. It is directed by Tom Ford in his directorial debut and stars Colin Firth, who was ...more
Blue Is the Warmest Colour is a 2013 French romantic coming-of-age drama film directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, based on the graphic novel by Julie Maroh. French teenager Adèle ...more
