Half a decade ago, 2005 was hailed as the "Year of the Gay Movie" thanks to high-profile releases such as Brokeback Mountain—movies that were both award contenders and audience pleasers. By that definition, 2010, with The Kids Are All Right, Black Swan and I Am Love vying for this same kind of awards attention and rapturous audience response, is easily tagged the "Year of the Lesbian Movie." Ladies—nearly 80 years after the release of the unapologetic, lesbian classic Maedchen in Uniform—it seems Hollywood has finally taken notice.
The year included several other high-profile movies with lesbian themes—The Runaways; Chloe; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; and Splice (co-writer/director Vincente Natali's blissful horror classic that masterfully brought gender-bending to the sci-fi realm). Gay men had plenty of onscreen portrayals this year, too, including the usual gaggle of gay best friend characters in various romantic comedies. But there were some lovely exceptions to the rule and some sobering ones when it came to documentary releases.
I'd like to point out—as I do every year—that all these "Best of" lists are completely subjective. My list tends to shift around with repeat viewings and reconsiderations. And with that, here's my list of the 10 Best LGBT Movies of 2010 (in preferential order) with heavy notes on my top five and a word or two about my remaining choices:
1. The Kids Are All Right: Out director Lisa Cholodenko spent years co-writing the script (with Stuart Blumberg) of her original story of two moms (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) whose relationship is hitting a really rough patch just when their two teenaged children decide they want to meet their biological dad (aka their sperm donor), a free-spirited Mark Ruffalo. The script is a master class in screenwriting—allowing moments for even the most minor characters to shine through and the performances by Ruffalo, Moore (an honorary lesbian at this point), and especially Bening are wonderfully complex—funny and heartbreaking at once. This is a well-deserved triumph for Cholodenko and her cast.
2. Black Swan: Writer-director Darren Aronofsky takes us into the mind of the seriously controlled, seriously disturbed aging ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman), who finally has her chance to shine dancing both the lead roles in "Swan Lake." If only she can loosen her perfectionist tendencies, let her sexual fantasies run free in the bargain and come to grips with her obsession with the comely, free-spirited ballerina Lily (Mila Kunis) who is hot on her heels and seems to endlessly tease her sexually. This is a great paranoid, hard-edged sexual thriller that is unrelenting and merciless toward its leading character and its audience.
3. I Am Love: The amazing Tilda Swinton stars and produced, in collaboration with Italian writer-director Luca Guadagnino, this masterful melodrama of a wealthy Milanese family in crisis. Swinton plays the matriarch, a Russian émigré who is inspired when her college-aged daughter comes out after falling for a woman to embark on her own act of physical and emotional rediscovery with a hot, young chef. This Italian movie was not only one of the best LGBT films of the year; it was, hands down, my favorite movie. It's a masterpiece on all counts.
4. I Killed My Mother: Though it only played a few dates at Reeling 29, this dramedy from the young, queer French Canadian auteur Xavier Dolan (writer-director-star) was one of the most consistently enjoyable and insightful movies I watched this year. The movie stars Dolan as an extremely opinionated, passionate gay teenager living and daily testing the boundaries of the relationship with his mostly easygoing, divorced mother (Anne Dorval, giving one of the year's best performances). The movie illuminates the gay teenager experience like nothing I've ever seen, and the combative yet loving relationship between the son and the mother is revelatory. Regent Releasing has yet to schedule a U.S. theater or DVD release but keep your eyes peeled for this little dazzler.
5. I Love You Phillip Morris: Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor star in the jaw-dropping true story of a con man supreme who will do anything to be with the object of his true love—the sweet young innocent he met and fell in love with in prison. Shamefully, U.S. audiences were the last to see this deft, dark comedy with its surprisingly sweet edge that offered Carrey a role that perfectly fit his cartoonish, physical gifts.
6. Howl: James Franco is having a great year—actor, writer, director, guest star on General Hospital and host of the upcoming Oscars. And though his current triumph in 127 Hours is certainly justified I'm more than a tad miffed that his much more interesting work in this cinematic biography of the poem "Howl"—and its proudly gay author Allen Ginsberg (who was out in 1955, no less)—is being pushed aside. (A recent article in Entertainment Weekly, for example, completely omits the movie when looking back at Franco's big year.) See for yourself when Oscilloscope Laboratories releases the movie on DVD/Blu-ray Jan. 4 (or catch it On Demand). This is an artistic, adventurous fictional feature debut from gay documentary collaborators Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein that is sure to become an essential addition to the gay movie canon.
7. Stonewall Uprising: An important documentary look with several surviving participants and observers (on both sides of the fence) at the Stonewall riots in June of 1969, the birth of gay liberation from directors Kate Davis and David Heilbroner.
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: This is a special-effects blockbuster disguised as a wry romantic comedy from director Edgar Wright. Michael Cera falls hard for a pretty girl but must fight off all her previous exes—including the gloriously proud lesbian she partnered with for a time in college.
9. The Mormon Proposition: This movie is an eye-opening and heartfelt exploration of the Mormon Church's long history. Steven Greenstreet and Reed Cowan, a first-time director and ex-Mormon who also just happens to be openly gay, were the minds behind the making of this film.
10. Burlesque: There's not a single original moment in gay writer-director Steve Antin's first movie, but there was no doubting that this musical pastiche of dozens of previous musicals was made for Our People from beginning to end. It's the guilty pleasure of the year.
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter website.
