Pictured My Summer of Love. Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote, as the man himself.
If the early 1990s hailed the breakthrough of queer cinema, surely 2005 will go down as the year that gay movies went mainstream. Look no further than your local Cineplex for immediate proof of that. Perusing the titles you'll find Brokeback Mountain, Transamerica, Breakfast on Pluto, Capote, The Family Stone, The Producers, and Rent all playing at once. And it's been like that all year—there hasn't been a month without at least one or two films with heavy GLBT themes or content in theaters. Though the majority of the titles are still coming from small indie producers and production companies, the continued absorption of all things queer by the mainstream is to be heartily applauded.
There are still thousands of GLBT stories to tell—and hopefully in the future we'll see more GLBT actors, writers and directors bringing them to all audiences. I for one await the moment the first A-List male and female star come out while at the peak of their popularity—without impunity—instead of at the tail end. No matter what, based on the slate of 2005 releases, Queer Cinema is certainly here to stay. But maybe what is still a distinct subgenre might one day meld so neatly into existing categories—romance, action, dramedy, etc.—that the distinction of 'queer cinema' might become superfluous.
I'd like to point out—as I did last year—that all these 'Best of' lists are completely subjective. Perhaps you thought The Island was as good as it gets while I thought it merely a worthy contender for 'Guilty Pleasure of the Year,' for example. My list tends to shift around with repeat viewings and reconsiderations. With those caveats in mind, here's my list of the 10 Best GLBT Movies of 2005 ( in preferential order ) :
1. CAPOTE: If Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance as the diminutive southern writer immersed in the research and writing of In Cold Blood isn't revelation enough, add a great script by first-timer Dan Futterman ( one of Will Truman's ex-boyfriends on Will & Grace ) , the first feature from Bennett Miller, and a quiet, elegiac supporting performance by Catherine Keener as Capote's friend and research assistant ( and reported lesbian ) , Harper Lee as well as that of Clifton Collins, Jr. as Perry Smith, the murderer with the soul of a poet that seemed to entrance Capote.
2. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN: Consider these elements: a much-lauded short story about cowboys in the west involved in a tragic romance with each other fleshed out by scriptwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. A film director the caliber of Ang Lee, Oscar winner for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and noted for his films dealing with emotional purgatory. Two A-List stars that couldn't be any hotter at the box office making love on screen: Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. When you've finished doing the math, you'll find that the resulting movie is nothing short of a landmark.
3. MYSTERIOUS SKIN: One of the first directors of the queer cinema, Gregg Araki, returned to form with this devastating look at the effects of child abuse on two young men ( beautifully played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet ) . Dreamily filmed and scored ( by ambient composer Harold Budd and Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie ) , this gut-wrenching film also has a last scene that topped anything else this year.
4. LOGGERHEADS: I called this first feature from gay writer-director Tim Kirkman the perfect example of a perfect 'little movie' and I stand by that. This story of a birth mother ( Bonnie Hunt in a searing, heartfelt performance ) searching for the son she never knew, the gay drifter Mark ( Kip Pardue ) , and encountering instead his adoptive, arch-conservative parents ( Tess Harper and Chris Sarandon ) , is a deeply rewarding movie-going experience with faultless performances, cinematography, and music.
5. WALK ON WATER: Israeli director Eytan Fox and his lover, writer Gal Uchovsky, followed up their well-regarded gay cinema favorite Yossi & Jagger with this complicated story of a Mossad agent ( Lior Ashkenazi ) ordered to track down a Nazi by posing as a tour guide for his grandchildren, Axel and Pia. The multi-layered story ( it's also a terrific thriller ) focuses on the agent's gradual acceptance of Axel's homosexuality as he confronts his ethnic prejudices. Based on Ashkenazi's performance ( not to mention his heartthrob good looks ) , it's not surprising to learn that he's Israel's biggest male star.
6. THE FAMILY STONE: Out writer-director Thomas Bezucha follows up Big Eden, his 2000 feature-writing debut ( it's my all-time favorite 'gay' movie ) with this twist on the romantic comedy staple of a young man ( Dermot Mulroney ) bringing home his uptight girlfriend ( Sarah Jessica Parker ) to meet his family at Christmas. Diane Keaton shines as the mother of five who fiercely defends her deaf, gay son in such no-nonsense terms it's like a call to arms. Take that homophobes!
7. MY SUMMER OF LOVE: Perhaps the year's sexiest movie was this dreamy treatise on two very nubile young ladies in love in the gorgeous, lush English countryside. Startling debut performances from stars Nathalie Press and Emily Blunt, an evocative soundtrack and a last-minute revelation add to the film's overt sensuality.
8. THE PRODUCERS: The old-fashioned musical returns in this remake of the Mel Brooks 1968 classic. That version was hilarious and proudly heterosexual while this musical remake takes its advice to 'Keep It Gay' at every twist and turn. Badly shot and pitched to the back of the balcony, it's a triumph of studio artifice nevertheless.
9. TRANSAMERICA: Felicity Huffman's transcendent performance as the pre-op transsexual Bree is what got writer-director Duncan Tucker's debut feature a spot on my list. Without Huffman, the movie is a likeable road movie of no particular distinction. But with Huffman … glorious.
10. D.E.B.S.: Lesbian African-American writer-director Angela Robinson ( that's a lot of labels for one little ole filmmaker ) broke through 27,000 barriers with this cute spy spoof parody that's going to find itself in esteemed Zoolander territory on DVD sooner or later. The film's multiple sight gags serve as a backdrop for the budding romance between super villain Lucy Diamond ( Jordana Brewster ) and super spy/schoolgirl Amy ( Sara Foster ) that is sweet and silly.
Honorable Mentions ( in no particular order ) :
Saving Face; Breakfast on Pluto; The Dying Gaul; Happy Endings; Heights; Cote d'Azur; Tropical Malady; Hellbent; The Nomi Song; Twist of Faith; Rent.
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'Brokeback' Records
Brokeback Mountain continues to do well at the box office in limited release, with a wider number of screens expected in January—and even TV commercials now airing. Over the holiday weekend, it had the highest per-screen average—$13,599 per theater, compared with $9,305 for King Kong and $8,225 for The Chronicles of Narnia.
