With movies like All of Us Strangers, Call Me By Your Name, Moonlight and more gaining popularity and accolades, same-gender relationships have started to become more common in the film industry — that is, as long as both main characters are men. While MLM (men loving men) movies are increasingly abundant, WLW (women loving women) movies are painfully scarce.
Of course, depictions of all kinds of queer relationships are important and should be commonplace in popular media. But if you’re a queer woman looking for representation on the big screen, check out these five fantastic films.
1. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu in French) (2019)
This French film follows Marianne, an 18th-century painter, as she works on a portrait commissioned by the mother of Heloise, a young woman who is soon to be married off to a nobleman against her wishes. Over the course of several weeks, Marianne and Heloise quietly fall for each other along a dark seaside.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is beautiful and poignant and perfect. Marianne and Heloise’s performances are subtle, but deeply emotional. If you’re looking for a happy ending, you won’t find it here, but if you want to have a good cry, this one is definitely for you.
2. The Half of It (2020)
When Ellie is asked by her classmate Paul to help him ask out Aster, the girl of Ellie’s dreams, she does the only logical thing — she says yes. Ellie gives him notes on all of Aster’s favorite books, teaches him to flirt and even coaches him through a dinner date with Aster. As they work to woo their mutual crush, Ellie and Paul become good friends.
We need more cute WLW movies in the world, and The Half of It is just that. This film is funny and light-hearted, reminiscent of MLM coming-of-age media like Love, Simon or Heartstopper.
3. The World To Come (2020)
We’re back to the tear-jerker movies with The World To Come, a 19th-century period drama about two farmers’ wives who become closer than friends. With no one else around for miles, Abigail is quickly drawn to her new neighbor, Tallie. Amidst their deteriorating relationships with their husbands, Abigail and Tallie develop an intimate bond that carries them through the hardships of the frontier.
The World To Come stands out amongst WLW period pieces because of the performances by Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterson, who portray Tallie and Abigail. Their characters treat each other with such genuine care, and it truly feels like watching two people fall in love for the first time.
4. D.E.B.S. (2004)
D.E.B.S. is a hidden gem amongst early 2000s rom-coms. Released in 2004, D.E.B.S. tells the story of an elite, all-girls espionage academy. Amy, the academy’s most promising recruit, leads her team on a mission to stop Lucy Diamond, a notorious supercriminal. However, Amy finds herself falling for Lucy, and eventually runs away to be with her. At the climax of the movie, Amy must choose between her future with the D.E.B.S. and her love for Lucy.
This is one of the greatest, campiest WLW films out there, and the costumes, sets and soundtrack are peak Y2K. With all the depressing queer films out there, this one is great for when you want a fun, feel-good movie (where neither of the leads die in the end!).
5. But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)
Of course, D.E.B.S. is not the campiest WLW film ever made — that award undoubtedly goes to But I’m A Cheerleader. Starring Natasha Lyonne as cheerleader Megan, But I’m A Cheerleader follows a group of queer high schoolers as they go through a bizarre kind of conversion therapy. While trying to suppress her homosexual urges, Megan finds herself falling for Graham, another girl going through the program.
The cast list for this film is totally stacked, with RuPaul herself portraying one of the conversion camp counselors. But I’m A Cheerleader is arguably the most classic WLW movie, and is a must for anyone to see.