The best queer movies of 2023: All our favorite performances, romances & more

Celebrating the LGBTQ+ films we've been thinking about all year long.

Mark

Jan 1, 2024 - 19:01

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The best queer movies of 2023: All our favorite performances, romances & more

Image Credits, clockwise from top loft: ‘Red, White & Royal Blue,’ Amazon Studios | ‘Rustin,’ Netflix | ‘Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed,’ HBO | Monica, IFC Films | center: ‘Strange Way Of Life,’ Sony Pictures Classics

From the biggest of blockbusters to indie gems and future cult classics, it really did feel like the movies were gayer than ever in 2023.

To celebrate the year that was, Queerty is eschewing a traditional ranking and handing out superlatives for some of the most notable queer (and queer-adjacent) features, highlighting the best, brightest, funniest, sexiest, and most surprising movies of 2023. So read on, because these are the performances, movies, and moments we’ll still be talking about for years to come.

Performance Of The Year: Trace Lysette in Monica

Monica is a film that’s been years in the making, and even after it premiered at the prestigious Venice Film Festival—where it received a rapturous 11-minute standing ovation—star Trace Lysette has had to fight for it to be seen, for it to be considered as not only a trans story, but also one speaking to truths that are universally human. And it’s not hard to see why: Lysette pours every ounce of her soul into this story of a trans woman coming home to care for her estranged—and dying—mother. Quietly devastating with a subtle expressiveness that speaks volumes, the actress delivers a performance so vulnerable and affecting that the final shot of her wary-yet-hopeful face lingers in your mind long after.

Available on AMC+ via Prime Video & The Roku Channel.

Performer Of The Year: Colman Domingo

Image Credits, from left to right: Colman Domingo in ‘Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts’ (Paramount), in ‘The Color Purple’ (Warner Bros.), ‘Rustin’ (Netflix), and ‘Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken’ (Universal)

2023 isn’t the year Colman Domingo became a “star”—he’s always been one. But after decades of turning out work that’s as unpredictable and varied as it is reliably fantastic, the actor finally became #1 on the call sheet, wowing us by transforming himself into the underusing civil right leader Bayard Rustin in Rustin. That the heroic performance hit theaters just a few months prior to his darker turn as Mister in The Color Purple is just another testament to the man’s chameleonic range. On top of that, Domingo also voiced a planet-eating alien (Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts) and a loving kraken father (Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken) this year—is there anything he can’t do?

Rustin is streaming on Netflix, and The Color Purple is now playing in theaters everywhere.

Best Romance: Of An Age

In this Aussie gem, a young dancer (Elias Anton) gets a distressed call from his bestie, who’s stranded far from home after a wild night out, linking up with her older brother (Thom Green) to drive him miles and miles away to find her. Somewhere along the way, the two realizing they’re hitting it off, and their impromptu road trip becomes a tour of all the heady emotions and feelings of falling for someone new. But it’s the final act’s shift that puts director Goran Stolevski’s swooning meet-cute in a new perspective, making it a love story for the ages.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Ken Of The Year: Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans (TIE)

Image Credits: Ncuti Gatwa as Ken and Scott Evans as Ken in ‘Barbie,’ Warner Bros.

There’s always been something a little gay about Barbie’s boy toy Ken, right? So perhaps that’s why the Barbie movie’s standout Kens are the two played by openly queer actors. Neither turns him into a stereotypical fashion-loving queen a la Toy Story 3, but find subtle ways to put their own spins on the classic doll, making the most globally successful movie of the year slyly subversive. Evans finds the spotlight especially in Barbie‘s song-and-dance numbers, and Gatwa manages to steal scenes with those short-shorts alone. They are Kenough!

Now streaming on Max.

Best Coming-Out Scene: All Of Us Strangers

Image Credit: ‘All of Us Strangers,’ 20th Century Studios

You could call All Of Us Strangers a ghost story—after all, it’s largely about a forty-something gay man (Andrew Scott) returning to his childhood home, only to find that his parents (Claire Foy & Jamie Bell), who died 30 years prior, are still living there as if not a day had passed. But it’s how this conceit plays out that makes Andrew Haigh’s heartbreaking drama “haunting” in a different way, like when our protagonist realizes he now has to come out to his parents—something he never could’ve imagined he’d have the opportunity to do.

Now playing in select theaters.

Best “Moment Of Insertion”: Red, White & Royal Blue

Image Credit: ‘Red, White & Royal Blue,’ Amazon Studios

Both fans and critics of this royal rom-com agree that there’s something a little “Hallmark movie” about the squeaky-clean way this highly anticipated literary adaptation unfolds. So that makes it all the more surprising when Red, White & Royal Blue shows just how horny it can be, from butt grabs to risque jokes in the White House. And though it’s not explicit, the fun flick deserves a lot of credit for the sensitivity and directness it brings to the “First Son” (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and British prince’s (Nicholas Galitzine) first time getting it on, making it very clear we’re witnessing—as director Matthew López himself put it—their “moment of insertion.”

Streaming via Amazon Prime Video.

Best Dicks: Aaron Jackson & Josh Sharp in Dicks: The Musical

In this absurdist musical masterpiece, rising comedy stars Aaron Jackson & Josh Sharp play a couple of egotistical *ssholes who discover they’re actually long-lost twins and devise an ultimately self-centered plan to get their parents back together. But the gag is, even when playing utter jerks who sing about how big their c*cks are, you can’t help but fall for Jackson and Sharp, whose hearts shine through, beaming with such affection for their cast and crew and everyone who dared take a chance on this future cult classic. Dicks forever!

Available for purchase via VOD and digital platforms.

Best Dcks: Rotting In The Sun*

But even a movie called Dicks can’t come close to the d*cks-per-minute ratio of the pitch-black comedy Rotting In The Sun, especially in its opening scenes when director-star Sebastián Silva (playing himself) first meets Jordan Firstman (also playing himself) at a gay beach in Mexico. Firstman, in particular, commits every inch of himself to the role, and it’s honestly pretty shocking—that is, until the film’s audacious second act twist that is truly shocking, and completely sets the story down a stranger, darker path than you could’ve ever imagined.

Streaming on Mubi.

Best Mother-Off: Natalie Portman vs. Julianne Moore, May December

It’s rare to see a movie so thoroughly committed to the ancient art of actresses actress-ing. Todd Haynes’ thorny melodrama finds Natalie Portman playing an actress studying the inspiration for her latest role: A woman who became tabloid fodder due to her relationship with a seventh grader—played in all her lisping glory by Julianne Moore. As their lives become more entangled, May December never paints them as antagonists, but rather mirror images whose biggest “showdowns” amount to passive-aggressive exchanges that are barely above a whisper—yet they cut deeper than a knife into a pineapple upside-down cake.

Streaming on Netflix.

Best Documentary: Kokomo City

A documentary about Black trans sex workers as told by Black trans sex workers, Kokomo City brings us into the worlds of the endlessly watchable Daniella Carter, Dominique Silver, Koko Da Doll, and Liyah Mitchell, sharing stories that are funny, shocking, heartbreaking, and eye-opening—sometimes all at once. While the women’s lives and experiences may differ, D. Smith’s revelatory first film finds the tenacious spirit that connects them all as they fight for survival, respect, and happiness. Though shot in stark black-and-white, there’s a vibrancy to Kokomo City that makes it hard to forget.

Available for rental/purchase via VOD and digital platforms.

Best Case For Sitting Our Elder Gays Down In Front Of A Camera And Letting Them Spill Tea: Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed

Docs taking a retroactive look at bygone icons can often feel like fluffy hagiography, but in his examination of the life and legacy of screen idol Rock Hudson, director Stephen Kijak has created a piece that actually re-contextualizes what we knew of the star, who was closeted most of his career. On top of that, All That Heaven Allowed is actually incredibly juicy, with former friends and flings getting refreshingly honest, like the guy who had no qualms with looking into the camera lens and share that Hudson was, indeed, packing.

Streaming on Max.

Best Ensemble: Bottoms

The initial draw of Bottoms is the real-life chemistry of BFFs and stars Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri. But the bawdy and bloody buddy comedy does an excellent job building out the heightened world around them, filling it with would-be archetypes—the dumb jock, the slacker teacher, the surprisingly violent quiet girl—and then flipping the script thanks to game performances from the entire cast. Everyone gets a moment to shine, but we have to shout out queer girl crush Havana Rose Liu and Red, White & Royal Blue‘s Nicholas Galitzine, who is surprisingly down to clown.

Available on MGM+ via Prime Video & The Roku Channel.

Hottest Ensemble: Strange Way Of Life

The cast of ‘Strange Way Of Life,’ Image Credit: Getty Images

It’s kind of astounding how many sizzling-hot stars Pedro Almodóvar packs into his buzzy, 31-minute Western short, Strange Way Of Life. There’s double the daddy with Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal playing to former flames on opposite sides of the law—who have no trouble tapping into the years-long sexual tension simmering between their cowboys—and then you’ve got Spanish studs like Jason Fernández and José Condessa playing their characters in flashbacks, not to mention Elite hottie Manu Ríos, who always sets our screens ablaze.

Strange Way Of Life is, unfortunately, not currently available to stream.

Best Debut: Mutt

Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s feature debut portends great things for this young filmmaker, showcasing his ability to draw stirring, naturalistic performances from his cast, a keen eye for composition, and a deft balance of tone. As a young trans man (played by the fantastic Lio Mehiel) traverses New York City over the course of 24 hours, the director’s affecting character study gracefully unfolds, blending moments of beauty, pain, humor, and romance, too, especially in a sexy laundromat scene (with Cole Doman) that still has our heads in a spin cycle.

Streaming on Netflix.

Best On-Screen Lesbian: Jodie Foster in Nyad

Image Credit: Jodie Foster in ‘Nyad,’ Netflix

This classic “triumph of the human spirit” tale is named after its protagonist (Annette Bening) who swam from Cuba to Florida at 64, but it’s hard to imagine the movie without Diana Nyad’s best friend, Bonnie Stoll, played in all her Diet Coke-drinking glory by the one and only Jodie Foster. Has the two-time Oscar winner ever had a role this wonderfully gay? Foster butches it up for the part and is seemingly having a blast, giving the movie its heart—an ode to queer female friendship—and becoming sapphics’ number one mommy crush in the process.

Streaming on Netflix.

Most Chaotic Bisexual: Franz Rogowski in Passages

In media there’s the tired old trope of the “scheming bisexual,” whose sexuality becomes shorthand for promiscuousness as they lie and cheat on their male and female partners alike. But Ira Sachs’ sharply funny and seductive Passages uses it as a basis for fascinating portrait of love, lust, and ego. German actor Franz Rogowski is force of nature as the crop-top-wearing Tomas, who is almost too honest as he bounces between his long-term partner Martin (Ben Whishaw) and his new fling Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

Streaming on Mubi.

Best Drag Performance: Noah Galvin in Theater Camp

In this endearing mockumentary, we meet a kooky cast of theater camp counselors and their plucky campers, each incredibly gifted performers in their own right. And then there’s Noah Galvin as the camp’s put-upon technician. But, come on, you don’t cast a young Broadway veteran like Galvin and not let him sing, too, right? Well, sorry for the spoiler, but sing he does, saving the day when the leading diva drops out of the big show, arriving for the 11 o’clock number in full drag—looking stunning—and blowing the roof off the place.

Streaming on Hulu.

Best Use Of A Pop Star: Bad Bunny in Cassandro

Image Credit: ‘Cassandro,’ Amazon Studios

Look, we don’t want to get your hopes up too much: International superstar Bad Bunny has three—maybe four?—scenes in this funny and flashy biopic of out wrestler Saúl Armendáriz, a.k.a. Cassandro (Gael García Bernal). But what he does with those few scenes? Whoo boy, it’s a doozy. Bad Bunny is effortlessly charming and sexy as Felipe, a “straight” employee of Cassandro’s manager, Lorenzo, and his on-screen chemistry with Bernal is off the charts. This guy is a natural, and we hope there are more (gay) roles for him in the future!

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Best Reminder To Clean Your Bathroom: Saltburn

There are a number of gasp-inducing moments in this darkly comedic thriller about Oxford student Oliver (Barry Keoghan) who obsesses over his well-to-do classmate Felix (Jacob Elordi). But nothing can top what goes down in that claw-foot tub. After he spies on Felix finishing himself off in the bathroom, Oliver sneaks in to slurp up what remains from his mess, literally rimming the drain for every last drop. Yes, really. Keoghan might just deserve an Oscar for that moment alone—we certainly can’t remember the last time an actor showed such utter commitment to his craft. Well, except for maybe the last scene of the movie, when Keoghan lets it all hang out!

Now playing in select theaters and streaming via Amazon Prime Video.