Absolute Beginners
Director: Julien Temple | Country: UK
Year: 1986
Category: Lavender Marriage Narratives
Trailer
This British musical directed by Julien Temple features a subplot involving a lavender marriage. In the film, aspiring fashion designer Suzette marries the middle-aged, homosexual designer Henley for career advancement rather than love. The film, set in 1958 London, depicts this arrangement as one of many compromises characters make in pursuit of success.
Other Films
Night and Day (1946)
Director: Michael Curtiz
This Technicolor fictionalized biography of composer Cole Porter starred Cary Grant as Porter and Alexis Smith as his wife Linda Lee Thomas. Warner Brothers paid $300,000 for the rights to Porter's best-known songs. The film was a heavily sanitized version of Porter's life that completely obscured his homosexuality and presented his marriage to Linda as a conventional romantic love story—the exact opposite of the truth.
De-Lovely (2004)
Director: Irwin Winkler
A more honest portrayal of Cole Porter's life came nearly 60 years later with De-Lovely, directed by Irwin Winkler and starring Kevin Kline as Porter and Ashley Judd as Linda Lee Thomas. This film openly addressed Porter's homosexuality and depicted his lavender marriage more accurately.
Badhaai Do (2022)
Director: Harshavardhan Kulkarni
This Indian Hindi-language film starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar directly depicts a lavender marriage in contemporary India. The story follows Shardul, a gay policeman, and Sumi, a lesbian physical education teacher, who marry each other to satisfy family expectations and societal pressure.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Judy Garland, this classic MGM musical brought together two talents who would marry in 1945. Their marriage is now widely recognized as one of Hollywood's most notable lavender marriages, with Minnelli rumored to be gay and Garland fully aware of his sexuality. They divorced in 1951.