While the box office is still not where it was pre-pandemic, audiences more and more seem to be returning to see movies. 2024 didn’t produce any instant queer classics like “Carol” or last season’s “All of Us Strangers,” but it was nonetheless a very solid year for LGBTQIA+ fare. Here are 10 of my favorites.
Challengers: Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” boasts an excellent performance from Daniel Craig, and some steamy sex scenes, but its second half left me cold. Far better in my opinion was the director’s playful, erotic “Challengers.” It’s a love triangle between a tennis trio – Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor – with plenty of homoeroticism. There wasn’t a sexier scene in 2024 than a make-out session between the main characters.
Crossing: A retired teacher who has promised to find her niece travels to Istanbul and forms an unlikely bond in this gem, one of the year’s most tender and surprising films, from “And Then We Danced” director Levan Akin.
Emilia Perez: It’s a musical, a crime story and drama, with a transgender character — Karla Sofía Gascón as the titular lead – at its unforgettable center. Jacques Audiard’s film doesn’t all work but when it does it’s sensational, also starring Selena Gomez and a never-better Zoe Saldana.
Femme: In Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s debut feature, a drag artist survives a horrible attack, only to run into the man responsible months later, with a score to settle. The first time I saw this, I wanted more of a standard revenge thriller, but on the second I admired its complexity and ambiguity.
High Tide: Marco Pigossi stars as an undocumented Brazilian immigrant living in Provincetown in this compelling drama, directed by Marco Calvani and featuring a superb supporting cast including Bill Irwin and Marisa Tomei.
I Saw the TV Glow: Jane Schoenbrun, whose 2021 “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” received acclaim, scored again with this drama about two young teenagers who discover a life-changing late night TV show, complete with a vibrant trans sensibility.
Love Lies Bleeding: Kristen Stewart stars as the manager of a gym who gets involved with a bodybuilder (Katy M. O’Brian) headed to Las Vegas. Directed by Rose Glass, this is a sexy, dark ride with plenty of chemistry between its two leads.
My Old Ass: Writer/director Megan Park turns what could have been a simple story into something richer and more emotional in this comedy drama, with 18-year-old queer-identifying Elliot (Maisy Stella), high on mushrooms, getting a visit from herself as a 39-year-old (Aubrey Plaza).
The People’s Joker: Vera Drew’s film, in which a clown forms an anti-comedy troupe, is a queer comic book parody and audacious triumph for its co-writer/director, who also stars.
Will & Harper: In Josh Greenbaum’s beautiful documentary, Will Ferrell and his long-time friend/colleague Harper Steele go on a road trip just after Harper comes out to her friend as transgender. This has a real chance at a Best Documentary Oscar® nomination.
