not on netflix – Every Gay Movie on Netflix

Donne-moi la main: mundane but also infinitely confusing

2nd Nov 20203rd Nov 2020by Owen AtkinsonLeave a Comment

I watched this last weekend with some friends and I just had to find a way to process this clusterfuck of a movie. So here we go. Oh, and just to clarify, it’s not about incest …probably. Donne-moi la main, English translation: Give Me Your Hand, (Pascal-Alex Vincent, 2008) is a French-language film about a twin brothers’ journey across Europe. As they travel to the funeral of a mother they’ve never met, Antoine and Quentin confront their complicated sibling relationship, as well as perceptions of their own and each other’s desires.

Gay, Lesbian

Dating Amber: queer solidarity at its purest

16th Oct 202029th Jan 2021by Owen AtkinsonLeave a Comment

In 2020, it’s hard to believe that a film about a gay and a lesbian being each other’s beards (pretending to date each other so people think they’re straight) hadn’t been made. I suppose there was that one storyline on Glee… but still, here it is, finally, in full cinematic force. Of course, the main question is: does it live up to the hype? And the answer, of course, is complicated. Dating Amber (David Freyne, 2020) is a coming-of-age comedy set in oppressive 1990s Ireland. The story follows baby gay Eddie (Fionn O’Shea) and baby lesbian Amber (Lola Petticrew), and their developing friendship as they pursue a pretend relationship. [...]

Lesbian

But I’m a Cheerleader: hilarious parody with a heart

9th Oct 20205th Nov 2020by Owen Atkinson1 Comment

Come one now. It’s a gay classic at this point. You’d think that a whimsical comedy about queer kids forced to attend conversion therapy camp wouldn’t work at all... but it so does. Let me tell you why. But I’m a Cheerleader (Jamie Babbit, 1999) focuses around the story of Megan (Natasha Lyone), a timid 17-year-old coming to terms with her sexuality. At an intervention, her friends and family affront her with hilariously problematic lesbian stereotypes that she seems to follow, such as “being a vegetarian” and “liking Melissa Etheridge’s music”. They decide that she should be sent to “True Directions”, a gay conversion therapy camp that imposes 1950s-style gender roles on its unwilling teenage attendees.

Gay

Love, Simon isn’t a queer film

25th Sep 202025th Sep 2020by Owen Atkinson3 Comments

“I’m just like you, I have a perfectly normal life” says our protagonist Simon, as the camera shows him outside his large house in the suburbs getting a 4x4 for his birthday. Ah yes, it is clear from this opening shot, or even from the trailer and a quick glance at the cast, that Love, Simon is a gay film made for a cis, straight, white, middle-class audience. Or at the very least made to be palatable to The Hetties™. That doesn’t make it a bad film, but it is glaringly apparent, even in the first two minutes of the film. Then again, as (self-proportedly) the first film by a major Hollywood studio to focus on a gay teenage romance, it is a step in the white direction. I mean the right direction. Didn’t I say that? [...]

Bisexual, Lesbian

Disobedience: a fraught examination of the tensions between faith and queerness

21st Aug 202030th Aug 2020by Owen AtkinsonLeave a Comment

It's amazing how a film can be so rooted in the present when it's really about history. Personal history, romantic history, cultural and religious history all permeate the thematic presentation; and yet, the film's almost hyper-realistic style plants it so firmly in its present that you can't help but feel that you're there. Let me explain. Disobedience (Sebastián Lelio, 2018) tells the story of Ronit, a woman who, upon learning of the death of her father, returns to the Orthodox Jewish community where she grew up. Having fled the community in North London for New York as a teenager, she is now confronted with what she left behind: principally, her childhood friends Dovid and Esti. We witness the trio's internal struggle as they try to grapple with their conflicting cultural views and complicated history. And boy is it vivid. [...]

Lesbian

Carol

11th Jun 202030th Aug 2020by Owen AtkinsonLeave a Comment

"I want to see you” You know what Therese Belivet, I also want to see Cate Blanchett, at any and all times possible, so thank you. As suggested by my opening quote, Carol (as film and character) is extremely visually rich. It is sensual, evocative, and elegant. The theme of vision — observation, seeing and being seen — comes around time and time again. [...]

Bisexual, Gay

God’s Own Country

11th Jun 202030th Aug 2020by Owen AtkinsonLeave a Comment

First off, a warning: don’t start watching this whilst eating. You’ve got vomiting, calving and barebacking (and in that order) all in the first ten minutes. Although the movie soon becomes more palatable, it is worth noting that this is not a comfortable film to watch. Comforting maybe, especially by the end, but far from comfortable. [...]