Catherine Deneuve in 'The Hunger'

Catherine Deneuve once proclaimed, “I think that anything to do with sexuality makes people very interested”. Deneuve herself portrayed a bisexual vampire in 1983’s The Hunger opposite David Bowie and Susan Sarandon.

Is the guise of make-believe which draws some of our most lauded thespians into playing against sexuality? From the piercing performances of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain (2005) to the more recent Colin Firth in A Single Man (2009), audiences clearly relish the chance to come out with the best of them.

While it is rumoured that Hilary Swank earned a mere $75 per day while filming Boys Don’t Cry, she went on to win a Best Actress Academy Award for relinquishing any semblance of her feminine self on film. The actress later mused that she didn’t believe there was “anything more challenging than playing someone of the opposite sex.” Michael C Hall, of Dexter fame, says that playing the homosexual David in Six Feet Under forced him to access his own homophobia.

But why is playing gay so often met with accolades and awards? Director Ang Lee suggests that “straight actors still risk their careers commercially and economically” when taking on their diametric opposites.

Here are some of the best (and some less convincing) portrayals of sexuality on screen.

Groundbreaking

Hilary Swank and Chloë Sevigny – Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that Kimberly Peirce’s gritty account of a transsexual young woman, Brandon Teena (Swank), is based on real events? In Boys Don’t Cry, Swank pulls at heartstrings you didn’t know you had. The stark reality of being LBGT in a place such as America’s Falls City is somewhat reflected in the real Lana Tisdel (Sevigny’s character) taking legal action against Fox Searchlight and the film’s producers. According to Eric Harrison Online, Tisdel claimed that she was branded “a lesbian who did nothing to stop a murder“ by her home town, amongst other things.

Gael Garcia Bernal in 'Bad Education'

Gael García Bernal and Fele Martínez– La mala educación (2004)

Pedro Almodóvar’s glossy yet darkly overtoned Bad Education was the first Spanish film to open the Cannes Film Festival. His characterisation of a young gay couple’s relationship spanning two decades has García Bernal cross-dressing and bases itself on themes such as sexual abuse and transsexuality.

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal – Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Ang Lee’s juxtaposition of a gay western garnered him an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Directing, and acting nominations for Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams. Based on Annie Proulx’s short story of the same name, Ledger and Gyllenhaal were praised for their pained yet passionate cowboys-in-love. The UK’s Guardian newspaper describes the film as “wonderfully acted” and interestingly highlights that it’s actually the characters like Williams’ wife who face existing “in a state of denial”.

Gay-lite

Colin Farrell and Jared Leto – Alexander (2004)

Part of the problem many cinemagoers had with Oliver Stone’s saga may have been that Colin Farrell played the Macedonian legend with an Irish accent. However – call this selfish if you wish – when Jared Leto plays a gay man, a girl feels entitled to see some action. Not so, apparently – as “Rolling Stone” observed, Farrell’s Alexander and Leto’s Hephaistion “exchange hot looks but Stone – perhaps unwilling to kill the film’s box office chances among homophobes – stops there.”

Adam Sandler and Kevin James – I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)

Wikipedia notes that this “sex screwball buddy-comedy film” was a financial success, yet a critical failure. For what it’s worth, Sandler and James’ performances don’t dig too deeply. However, perhaps they weren’t intended to do so; it is indeed a buddy film at its core. The interplay between Sandler and Jessica Biel’s pro-gay rights (and heterosexual) lawyer is worth it when you need a giggle.

Camp Classic: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce – The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Now before you all throw your hands in the air and proclaim, “Travesty!”, the reason the boys from this Aussie gem are here is for their fluffy and fabulous portrayal (for the most part) of three drag queens on the road. The iconic image of Weaving seemingly floating on top of Priscilla (the ladies’ tour bus) was so evocative that it became a centerpiece of the closing ceremony at the Sydney 2000 games.

Also see…

Fucking Åmal (a.k.a. “Show Me Love”, 1998)

Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson’s trademark seems to be helping his audience sneak in like voyeurs, catching glimpses into the lives of others (see Mammoth, 2009, starring the aforementioned Michelle Williams and Gael García Bernal). Fucking Åmal, which refers to a desperately angry retort as one of the characters laments her small-town surrounds. Moodysson explores the merging of a girlhood friendship into something more. The film spawned a musical hit for Swede Robyn with “Show Me Love”.