David Lean: Queer Subtext

Maggie Mae Fish (she/her) explores the work of David Lean, who wasn’t gay himself, but who wove queer themes throughout his filmography. From his early work with the gay writer Noël Coward on Brief Encounter (1945), to the homoerotic subtext of Lawrence of Arabia (1962), to the gender-bending failed romance of Ryan’s Daughter (1970), Lean’s films offer rich subtext, and some surprisingly progressive (though not always) ideas.