Streaming
From Brokeback Mountain to Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
Just as eating spicy foods during the dog days of summer can help cool you down, raising your core temperature with some steamy content may help you ignore the sweltering heat outdoors. Purely in service of your health and well-being, here are the 22 sexiest movies streaming on Hulu, available right now to help you get a little flushed — and quench those lusty desires.
There's something for everyone’s particular taste on this list. For fans of history, Hulu has plenty delightfully anachronistic (and sapphic) period pieces, including Ammonite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and The World to Come. There are also plenty of present day love stories, like Free Fall, Brokeback Mountain, and Premature. And of course, what roundup of sultry films would be complete without some version of Pride and Prejudice — in this case, the BBC version with fan-favorite Mr. Darcy played by Colin Firth. For those interested in more modern fare, and enjoy a side of social alienation with their casual sex, the conflicted emotions and identities on display in 28 Hotel Rooms, Women and Sometimes Men, and Beach Rats should do the trick. And of course, there are a few straightforward romances with the heat turned up just a wee bit higher.
So unbutton that shirt, keep the handkerchief on deck, and press play on one of these steamy films now streaming on Hulu.
1
Pride and Prejudice
“Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy” is all that really needs to be said about this classic 1995 BBC take on the Jane Austen novel. Rather than a film, this version is actually a six-part series, so you can savor every moment of sexual tension even longer. Jennifer Ehle stars alongside Firth as the leading lady Elizabeth Bennett, and there’s no denying the pair’s onscreen chemistry.
2
Free Fall
Free Fall (Freier Fall) follows a forbidden romance between two police cadets, and has been called “the German Brokeback Mountain.” Marc (Hanno Koffler) is a supposedly straight officer who works alongside Kay (Max Riemelt), a fellow male colleague, as they embark on an unexpected life-changing affair that forever changes their lives. It’s both heartwarming and heartbreaking, so keep the tissues nearby for this one.
3
Ammonite
Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan in the same movie? As lovers?! Sounds great, honestly. Ammonite is loosely based on the life of paleontologist Mary Anning (Winslet) and her (possibly not real) relationship with Charlotte Murchison (Ronan). Though there are differing accounts as to whether Anning was actually queer, the film itself is passionate, aesthetically beautiful, and incredibly sexy. Some have also drawn parallels to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, another queer period piece.
4
Women and Sometimes Men
In the 2018 film Women and Sometimes Men, Sara (Tasha Ames) decides to call off her engagement after one day because she wants to explore her options — she had a sexual experience with a woman in college, and hopes to have more — but without giving up men. This movie feels like a coming-of-age film for those who are already of age: It just goes to show, people never stop changing.
5
Premature
Premature may not have received much attention upon its 2020 release, but there is so much to enjoy about this modern romantic drama. Directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green and co-written by Green and Zora Howard, Premature stars Howard and Joshua Boone as two Harlem residents in the midst of big transitions. Seventeen-year-old Ayanna (Howard) is on the precipice of adulthood when she meets Isaiah (Boone), an older music producer who has just moved to New York City. Like most coming-of-age stories, Ayanna attempts to “find herself” as she navigates this summer romance.
6
Four Lovers
Four Lovers, put simply, is a story about polyamory. Released in France under the title Aimez qui vous voulez, this French-language film is about two couples who find themselves mutually attracted to each other, and push the boundaries of their relationships — first by swapping partners, then by living as a four-person ensemble. Inevitably, trust is tested and love is challenged. Can the foursome work it out? Watch and find out.
7
The Escort
The Escort follows Mitch, a sex-addicted, newly unemployed journalist. In the hopes of turning his career around with an article like no other, he shadows Natalie, a Stanford-educated, high-priced escort. Like in every romantic comedy, the unlikely pair soon start to fall for one another. The overall gist sounds a bit mushy, but rest assured: The steamy moments throughout will have you dabbing the sweat off your forehead.
8
Beach Rats
What makes Beach Rats so enticing (and sexy) is the way it handles sexual fluidity. The film centers on Frankie (Harris Dickinson), who hangs out at the beach with his delinquent friends (aka “beach rats”) to get away from his family. When he finds himself simultaneously seeking older men online and beginning a relationship with a young woman, he makes little attempt to define his sexuality — he just “has sex with men,” case closed.
9
Liz in September
The Venezuelan film Liz in September (Liz en Septiembre), directed by Fina Torress, is all about letting your guard down for the right person. The movie tells the story of Liz (portrayed by Patricia Velásquez), a queer party girl who thinks love just gets in the way of fun. Soon Eva enters the picture, forcing Liz to reassess. Liz in September has some ultra steamy moments, but save that sweat rag for your eyes instead — the film’s tragic ending will leave you in a puddle of tears.
10
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) made waves upon its 2019 release, and not just because it’s set near the beach. It’s been called “the best movie about lesbian yearning since Carol,” and for good reason: This French-language film stars Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel as Marianne and Héloïse, two young 18th-century women whose romance is as sudden as it is impassioned. Trust us when we say this film is worth the hype.
11
28 Hotel Rooms
In effort to evoke the anonymity and transience of the one-night stand, 28 Hotel Rooms takes place in the various hotel rooms in which its central couple meet, and no character in the film is named. It follows a married corporate accountant (Marin Ireland) who goes on a business trip, and ends up having a casual rendezvous with a novelist (Chris Messina). But when they run into each other a year later, their affair turns out to be less fleeting than they intended.
12
Sliver
Sharon Stone, the ultimate queen of ’90s erotic thrillers, stars in Silver alongside a young and handsome William Baldwin. The film follows Carly (Stone), a woman who moves into an exclusive New York City apartment building, and soon discovers her fellow tenants have all kinds of shocking secrets — including Zeke (Baldwin). Things get very heated very fast. The film may have earned an abysmal 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Sharon Stone looks like a 10 out of 10 the entire time.
13
The World To Come
This is one of those movies that is simultaneously as sexy as it is tender. Yet another sapphic period film (there can never be too many), The World To Come is based on Jim Shepherd’s story of the same name. Katherine Waterson and Vanessa Kirby star as the two farmer’s wives who enter into a passionate affair, while Christopher Abbott and Casey Affleck round out the cast.
14
Plus One
Pen15’s Maya Erskine takes on a more adult role in Plus One. She and Jack Quaid star as longtime friends who remain single at an age when everyone else seems to be getting married. To counteract the stigma of singledom, they decide to be each other’s “plus one” at all the weddings they attend. Think The Wedding Date meets 27 Dresses, except funnier and much sexier.
15
A Teacher
This small indie flick that’s as provocative as it is intense. The film follows a Texas high school teacher, Diana Watts, who gets involved with one of her male students, Eric. As their relationship grows increasingly passionate, so too does the threat of being found out. But as Diana tries to extricate herself, she also becomes increasingly obsessed with learning every detail of Eric’s life. A Teacher premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and was later adapted as a miniseries, which is also available on Hulu.
16
Monogamy
Chris Messina stars in Monogomy as Theo, a disillusioned wedding photographer who decides to launch a side business — in which he stalks clients with his camera. Theo's own wedding to Nat (Rashida Jones) is threatened by Theo’s photographic obsessions, especially a woman whom he watches on the streets performing sex work. It’s simultaneously steamy and strange.
17
Pit Stop
Not unlike Brokeback Mountain, Pit Stop depicts queerness in rural America. Gabe (Bill Heck) and Ernesto (Marcus DeAnda) both live in the same small Texas town — and soon develop feelings for one another. Directed by Yen Tan, the film was a hit at its premiere at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2013, and took home the Texas Grand Jury Prize.
18
Shared Rooms
What’s hotter than gay sex during the holidays? Directed by Rob Williams, Shared Rooms follows three queer friends who are still trying to figure things out while everyone around them is settling down, getting married, and adopting children. Between Christmas and New Year’s, each member of the trio makes a connection with someone who gives them clarity about the future. ’Tis the season, right?
19
The Shape of Water
A more unorthodox love story, The Shape of Water proves that there’s someone out there for everyone — though that someone might be a fish-man. That’s certainly the case for Elisa (Sally Hawkins), who works as a cleaner at a government laboratory that’s holding a humanoid amphibian hostage; the two fall in love, and it’s surprisingly sweet. Hawkins delivers a glorious performance with just her face and body — her character is mute, and does not speak in the film.
20
Brokeback Mountain
Does Brokeback Mountain really need to be described? The queer neo-Western, based on the short story by writer Annie Proulx, follows two cowboys who spend the summer herding sheep on a fictitious mountain in Wyoming. The two begin a decades-long affair that ends… unhappily. Brokeback Mountain features one of the most passionate movie romances of the 21st century, and Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall’s chemistry is divine, as are their performances. If you haven’t seen it yet, now is your chance.
21
The Photograph
Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield star in this stunning film about love and loss in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Mae (Rae) is an assistant art curator who falls for Michael (Stanfield), a journalist who reaches out in search of archival material for a story. This one leans more tender than sexy, though the chemistry between Rae and Stanfield is still hot.
22
Vita & Virginia
Yes, we know it’s another same-sex period film. But this one has Virginia Woolf! Vita & Vanessa explores the real-life romance between the iconic Bloomsbury writers Virginia Woolf (Elizabeth Debicki) and Vita Sackville-West (Gemma Arterton). It wasn’t so much of an affair as it was a genuine relationship that ran parallel to their respective marriages, and with their spouses’ consent — though those limits would eventually be pushed.
This article was originally published on
