10 Biggest Movie Tropes Of 2017
6. Romance Was Gay (And With A Scenic Backdrop)
Seen in: Moonlight, The Handmaiden, God's Own Country, Call Me By Your Name
2017 wasn't all about monsters of one kind or another, though. There were also plenty of uplifting love stories for those who don't like things so dark. What made the couples that romantics rooted for this year different, however, was that most of them were same sex couples. And not in a tokenistic side character or a tragic finale way, either.
While 2017's big mainstream movies might have been rather coyer than initial reports suggested about the on-screen sexuality of Beauty And The Beast's Lefou, Power Rangers' Yellow Ranger or Thor: Ragnarok's Valkyrie, some of the year's most critically acclaimed dramas have been far more open to public displays of happy queer affection. Hell, even the Oscar winning Moonlight ended its story of urban hardship on a hopeful note for its male lovers.
Vengeance Trilogy director Park Chan-wook's lush, erotic melodrama set in 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, The Handmaiden, and Francis Lee's sheep farmer coming of age story set against the harsh beauty of the Yorkshire moors, God's Own Country, may have little in common superficially. What they do share, however, is a commitment to telling a romantic story about a same sex couple, set against some impressively scenic surroundings, and receiving bags of critical acclaim.
The same could be said for one of this year's big awards contenders, Call Me By Your Name, the third in director Luca Guadagnino's Desire Trilogy and the most intimate and romantic of the three. Guadagnino's film does not end with a happily ever after, but does give its audiences a heartfelt holiday romance in the scenic Italian countryside.