Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, and lesbians everywhere are scrambling to find the perfect queer romance movie round up. Whether you are single or in love, February 14th is bound to bring up lots of feelings. So regardless if you are kissing a current lover or reminiscing about an ex lover, here are some gay movies to compliment V-Day. Because every meal needs a fine wine pairing!
High Art (1998)
For the heartbroken queer looking to channel their rage into fictional characters, High Art is the perfect Valentine’s Day film. The film follows a young music journalist and her growing fascination with a drug addicted lesbian photographer. As the relationship evolves, the line between work and pleasure becomes increasingly blurred, with the journalist having a front row seat to the lives of artsy dykes for the first time. From the hedonism that lures women to Ally Sheedy’s gross apartment to Patricia Clarkson as her disgruntled lover, it’s ideal for dealing with any residual post break up resentment– a reminder it could have been worse!
Desert Hearts (1985)
In a lot of ways, Desert Hearts is a classic Western in the sense that a lonesome stranger arrives in town and brings trouble. It’s just that, in this case, the stranger is a literature professor going through divorce and the trouble she brings is lesbianism. This one is for the real lovers, the yearners, the hopeless romantics who value the erotic. The two leads, played by Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau, have unimaginable chemistry and watching them fall in love feels like being let in on the world’s best kept secret.
Women Who Kill (2016)
For the true crime lovers, Women Who Kill is a tale of paranoia, fear, and lesbian podcasters. If a break up has you feeling crazy and you need some vicarious vindication, this film serves it to you on a platter. Sheila Vand does a stunning job as the mysterious possibly murderous love interest in a film full of half truths and misguided assumptions. It marries the anxiety of dating someone new with the suspense of an unsolved murder case. A film to make you feel like in the end you were right.
Kajillionaire (2020)
Kajillionaire is the ultimate doomsday romance, starring Evan Rachel Wood as a second generation scammer whose life changes when she falls in love. While it is not a lesbian film in the sense that someone makes a joke about U-hauls, the love story is its nucleus. It is admittedly a bizarre film, with the usual quirks commonly found in Miranda July’s work. The performances are stellar and the love story is unconventional yet sincere. If you’re desperately trying to understand how the hell it is that love can survive the disaster that is human beings, this one’s for you.
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls In Love (1995)
What I consider to be perhaps one of the best teen movies of all time, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love is extremely special. It stars Nicole Marie Parker and Lauren Holloman as teenagers with completely different upbringings finding common ground in poetry and literature. The film’s world; its characters and houses and dinners in the kitchen are endlessly charming. The romance manages to capture so much of how it feels to be in love for the first time, whether you’re 16 or 40. I might be putting too much pressure on it but I really believe this film has the power to heal something in everyone.
Summertime (2015)
Summertime is about a romance for a season, because some things just aren’t supposed to last forever. Set in 1971, the film follows a French farm girl who begins a love affair with a Parisian feminist leader. It is filled to the brim with fun and beautiful moments; lesbians having sex in grassy fields, cows giving birth, and lots of tractor driving. It captures a whirlwind romance perfectly, bittersweet all the way through. This one is for the vacation fling that meant more than you expected, for the kiss you regret withholding, for the one that got away.
Bound (1996)
The most stylish film in the Lesbian canon, Bound stars Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly, with Christopher Meloni doing some crazy great stuff on the side. Bound is sleek, sexy and it hinges deeply on the breathtaking chemistry between its two leads. Every scene has you on the edge of your seat, as the leads plot to steal from crazy violent men. It is the ultimate be-gay-do-crimes film that ends with a getaway red pick up truck and a Tom Jones needledrop.
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