Best movies like The Normal Heart

Similar in 89%

The Circle (2014)

Plot Summary:

A young teacher in Zurich in the 1950s falls in love with a transvestite star but is torn between his bourgeois existence and his commitment to homosexuality. He joins a gay organization that is eventually seen as the pioneer of gay emancipation in Europe.

Similar in 81%

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

Plot Summary:

Steve Russell is a small-town cop. Bored with his bland lifestyle, Russell turns to fraud as a means of shaking things up. Before long, Russell's criminal antics have landed him behind bars, where he encounters the charismatic Phillip Morris. Smitten, Russell devotes his entire life to being with Morris regardless of the consequences.

Similar in 84%

The Trip (2002)

Plot Summary:

When 19-year-old gay-rights activist Tommy and 24-year-old Alan first meet in 1973, they find themselves on the opposite sides of the political coin.

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Burning Blue (2013)

Plot Summary:

Following two fatal aircraft accidents aboard an Aircraft Carrier, a government agent is placed aboard the ship. His mission is to determine what may be at the root of these mishaps and prevent the inevitable third chain breaking accident which abruptly changes course when a sailor reports seeing one of the top ranking fighter pilots in a gay club. The aviator and three of his squadron mates and their spouses all become the subject of a deadly modern day witch hunt entangling them in a web of jealousy and deceit which tests their concept of love, friendship and honor and changes their lives forever.

Similar in 84%

Holding the Man (2015)

Plot Summary:

In the 1970s, a young Australian boy, Timothy, finds himself confused. He falls for the captain of the football team. What follows shows all aspects of a relationship, regardless of gender or sexual preference. Conflict, temptation, and a huge burden which will affect every aspect of their lives.

Similar in 77%

A Single Man (2009)

Plot Summary:

Adapted from a 1964 novel of the same name, the film follows a day in the life of George Falconer, a British college professor reeling with the recent and sudden loss of his longtime partner. This traumatic event makes George challenge his own will to live as he seeks the console of close friend Charley who is struggling with her own questions about life.

Similar in 90%

Kill Your Darlings (2013)

Plot Summary:

A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

Similar in 84%

Keep the Lights On (2012)

Plot Summary:

An emotionally and sexually charged journey through the love, addiction, and friendship of two men. Documentary filmmaker Erik and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but they find a deeper connection and become a couple. Individually and together, they are risk takers—compulsive, and fueled by drugs and sex. In an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity and to be true to himself.

Similar in 85%

It's My Party (1996)

Plot Summary:

A gathering of friends. A gift of love. A celebration of life.

Similar in 83%

Longtime Companion (1989)

Plot Summary:

Longtime Companion follows the lives of a small circle of friends from the first mention of the disease in the New York Times in 1981. First referred to as "Gay-Related-Immune-Disorder," we watch the effect of the disease as it devastates the lives of our protagonists. Jumping between Manhattan and Fire Island, vignettes carry us from the it-couldn't-happen-to-me mentality of the early days of the disease to the invasive effect it has had on all of our lives, today. The title of the film comes from the New York Times' refusal to acknowledge homosexual relationships in their obituary section during this period. Instead, survivors were referred to as "Longtime Companions" of the deceased.

Similar in 81%

Come Undone (2000)

Plot Summary:

Story of two gorgeous, young French boys who begin a passionate relationship that boils over and threatens to destroy both their lives. Shy Mathieu is 18-years-old and on summer vacation in the south of France. He spends his days lazily sunning himself at the beach, until he spies the handsome Cédric and falls in love. The film, like a dream, flows back and forth between the past and present, often asking us to fill the deliberate jumps in time.

Similar in 81%

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Plot Summary:

Two modern-day cowboys meet on a shepherding job in the summer of '63, the two share a raw and powerful summer together that turns into a lifelong relationship conflicting with the lives they are supposed to live.

Similar in 90%

Before Night Falls (2000)

Plot Summary:

Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Similar in 78%

Prayers for Bobby (2009)

Plot Summary:

True story of Mary Griffith, gay rights crusader, whose teenage son committed suicide due to her religious intolerance. Based on the book of the same title by Leroy Aarons.

Similar in 82%

I Am Michael (2015)

Plot Summary:

The controversial true story of a gay activist who rejects his homosexuality and becomes a Christian pastor.

Similar in 75%

Boy Erased (2018)

Plot Summary:

The son of a Baptist preacher is forced to participate in a church supported gay conversion program.

Similar in 81%

Kinsey (2004)

Plot Summary:

Kinsey is a portrait of researcher Alfred Kinsey, driven to uncover the most private secrets of a nation. What begins for Kinsey as a scientific endeavor soon takes on an intensely personal relevance, ultimately becoming an unexpected journey into the mystery of human behavior.

Similar in 89%

Philadelphia (1993)

Plot Summary:

No one would take his case until one man was willing to take on the system. Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

Similar in 76%

Pride (2014)

Plot Summary:

Based on a true story, the film is set in the summer of 1984 – when Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is on strike. At the Gay Pride March in London, a group of gay and lesbian activists decides to raise money to support the families of the striking miners. But there is a problem - the union seems embarrassed to receive their support. However the activists are not deterred. They decide to ignore the union and go direct to the miners. They identify a mining village of Onllwyn, in the Dulais Valley in Wales, and later set off in a mini bus to make their donation in person. And so begins the extraordinary story of two seemingly alien communities who form a surprising and ultimately triumphant partnership.

Similar in 80%

Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Plot Summary:

Female born, Teena Brandon adopts his male identity of Brandon Teena and attempts to find himself and love in Nebraska.

Similar in 89%

Gia (1998)

Plot Summary:

Gia Carangi travels to New York City with dreams of becoming a fashion model. Within minutes of arriving, she meets Wilhelmina Cooper, a wise and high-powered agent who takes Gia under her wing. With Cooper's help and her own natural instincts, Gia quickly shoots to the top of the modeling world. When Cooper dies of lung cancer, however, Gia turns to drugs – and both she and her career begin to spiral out of control.

Similar in 86%

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Plot Summary:

Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.

Similar in 83%

A Home at the End of the World (2004)

Plot Summary:

Three friends form a bond over the year, Johnathan is gay, Clare is straight and Bobby is neither, instead he loves the people he loves. As their lives go on there is tension and tears which culminate in a strong yet fragile friendship between the three.

Similar in 78%

Milk (2008)

Plot Summary:

The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, who became an outspoken agent for change, seeking equal rights and opportunities for all. His great love for the city and its people brought him backing from young and old, straight and gay, alike – at a time when prejudice and violence against gays was openly accepted as the norm.