One of the indelible pleasures of having spent 10 years writing movie reviews for Windy City Times is putting together a year-end "Best of" list, something that all film critics look forward to. I have had the additional pleasure of knowing that my list of recommendations really does serve a purpose, as it's the rare list focused solely on LGBT fare ( or those movies that included important queer characters or themes ). But what other kind of list would a queer-film reviewer issue?
It's been a puzzle to me over this past decade why so few of the openly gay movie critics focus so much on mainstream movies at the expense of the queer ones. It's so hard to get a gay movie made ( compared to their straight counterparts ) that it seems not just a kindness but a responsibility for out film writers to emphasize the LGBT films in their listsor at least make note of them in some manner. But enough of the rant: Are you looking for a cinematic way to celebrate Pride? The movies that made the top of my annual queer movie Top Ten since 2004with a few ideas about what's going to make the list for 2014 as wellare a great place to start. Gay or straight, no matter how you label them, these are some kick-ass movies!
2004A Home at the End of the World and Tarnation ( a tie )Colin Farrell's multifaceted work in this little seen bisexual relationship film also contains assured, delicately shaded performances from Robin Wright, Sissy Spacek and ( then ) newcomers Dallas Roberts and Erik Smith. Tarnation, in which a gay man fights not just his own battle with mental illness but his mother's as well, was my other 2004 favorite. Jonathan Caouette's searing documentary would be too painful without its hopeful ending while his creative editing of photos, videotapes and archival material on his boyfriend's iMac movie software ( for a little more than $200 ) was justly touted.
2005CapoteIf Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance as the diminutive gay 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; 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. Brokeback Mountain ( which was second on my list ) is no less a masterpiece.
2006ShortbusJohn Cameron Mitchell lived up to his enormously creative debut, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, with his passionate, thrilling anddue to its hardcore contentcontroversial sophomore effort. An Altman-esque focus on a group of sexually frustrated New Yorkers, Mitchell's deeply emotional movie is also gloriously and unapologetically fun about sex.
2007Before I ForgetDirector Jacques Nolot's low-budget French film also stars him as Pierre, a 58-year-old ex-hustler entering the autumn of his life with no regrets and not a trace of sentimentality. The movie beautifully illuminates the "gay lifestyle" and issues specific to our community as Pierre goes about his everyday life in Paris. The film is tough, flinty, emotionally honest and, I think, a masterpiece.
2008MilkSean Penn's acting acrobatics in the title role are a wonder in Van Sant's unadorned masterpiece, which also features rich supporting performances by James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna. The movie also has a great first-time feature script by gay writer ( and Oscar winner ) Dustin Lance Black.
2009A Single ManBased on iconic queer writer Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult look and act sensationally in this stylish and moving retro drama about a college professor coping with the death of his lover. Clothing designer-turned-film director Tom Ford co-wrote, directed, produced and financed this film.
2010The Kids Are All RightOut 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 teenage children decide they want to meet their biological dad ( a free-spirited Mark Ruffalo ) who brings their relationship to a crisis point. The script is a master class in screenwriting and the performances are wonderfully complexfunny and heartbreaking at once.
2011WeekendGay writer-director Andrew Haigh's relationship drama is a stunningly simple, nearly perfect example of a romance movie whose burgeoning couple just happens to be gay. It was tagged "a gay Before Sunrise," but Russell ( Tom Cullen ) and hookup Glen ( Chris New ) are anything but tragic beauties in a world that certainly isn't filled with dappled sunsets and rosy dawns. They're just two regular Joes whose lives unexpectedly intersect and who find themselves hopelessly in love.
2012How to Survive a PlagueNew York Times journalist-turned-documentarian David France examines the impact that the group ACT UPin its fight to make strides in curing AIDShad on the scientific, political and, inevitably, cultural scenes in this searing, enthralling film. The movie is a lot more than a dry history lesson of the group of militant queer activists who refused to remain silent while their brethren lay dying all around them. It's beautifully inspiring and a great cautionary tale.
2013Valentine RoadMarta Cunningham's documentary about the murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King, a gay teen with trans tendencies, by his classmate is explored in this eye-opening film that played festivals and is currently showing on HBO. It's unforgettable.
2014The year isn't quite half over as I write this but already Reaching for the Moon and Pit Stop are contenders, The Normal Heart and The Case Against 8 are definites, and there are many titles slated for release in the second half of the year that look very promising. I eagerly await the next crop of queer movies!
In celebration of my decade as film critic for Windy City Times, on Thursday, June 19, I'll be reading and signing copies of my new film review collection The Best of Knight at the Movies, 2004-2014 at 7pm at Women & Children First book store ( 5233 N. Clark ).
I will be joined by Windy City Times publisher/editor Tracy Baim, who will read/sign copies of her latest books, Vernita Gray: From Woodstock to the White House, about the longtime LGBT activist who recently passed away ( co-written with author Owen Keehnen, who will also be there ), and The Fight for Marriage Equality in Illinois, which takes an in-depth look at the struggle for marriage rights on our home turf ( co-written by Kate Sosin ). http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/event/tracy-baim-owen-keehan-and-richard-knight-jr
Film notes:
There are still two more days to see Documented, the film from gay journalist, immigration activist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas that chronicles Vargas' story. The film has been playing at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., and continues through June 19. http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/documented_june
The Case Against 8 tracks the legal challenge ( and eventual overturn ) of California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 amendment, and is from out filmmakers Ben Cotner and Ryan White. ( See my interview with Cotner and two of the films subjects, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, in this issue. ) The movie continues at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., through June 19 and then debuts on HBO next Monday, June 23. http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/features/case-against-8
Since 2011 Windy City Times has been following the steady progress locally based filmmaker Malachi Leopold has been making on his documentary Alex & Ali ( formerly known as I Am the Water ). Leopold's film tells the decade-long love story of his uncle Alex, a Peace Corps volunteer, and Ali, an Iranian whom Alex fell in love with during his stay there during 1967-1977.
The love affair between the two men was interrupted when Alex was forced to leave Iran in the wake of the Islamic Revolution. Thirty-five years later, after keeping the relationship alive through letters and phone calls, Leopold was there to capture the moment when the two men reunited in Instanbul. In honor of Pride Month and the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Heartland Alliance International and Left Brain/Right Brain Productions will present a benefit screening of Alex & Ali on Tuesday, June 24, at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark St., at 7 p.m. Leopold, Marya Abdul Rahman and Scott Portman will be present for a panel discussion following the screening. action.heartlandalliance.org/site/Calendar