16/49
In 1950s Mexico City, a forty-year-old American immigrant lives a lonely life in the middle of a small American community. However, the arrival of a young student forces him to finally have a meaningful relationship with someone. It was Daniel Craig who finally convinced Luca Guadagnino to play Drew Starkey after watching audition tapes with Guadagnino and telling him, “This is the guy” after seeing Starkey. William Lee: Sit on your ass! Or what’s left of him after four years in the Navy. Starred in The Graham Norton Show: Daniel Craig/Nicola Coughlan/Jesse Eisenberg/Kieran Culkin/Flo (2024). I’ve never seen “Naked Lunch” (1991), but I found myself thinking about it a lot during the screening of “Queer” at the 2024 London Film Festival – which was probably to be expected, since William S Burroughs was the source material for both films. In 1950s Mexico, William Lee is an American writer who is on the wrong side of… the forties? Fifties? He spends his days getting drunk, shooting, and having casual sex with other men. One day, Eugene, a muscular and intelligent young man, walks into a bar, and Lee falls in love with him. But what does Eugene want? Plus, there’s that telepathic drug that’s worth pondering… I’m not sure what director Luca Guadagnino is trying to achieve stylistically with this film. The sets are decorated almost exclusively in solid colors (like muted reds and olive greens), and they have such a vaguely unrealistic, stripped-down, technicolor look that I’m led to believe the intention is to pay homage to the films of the film’s era. But if that’s the case, why the decidedly ’50s rock and techno soundtrack? Daniel Craig (is it my imagination, or is he starting to sound like Sid James?) is limited in the lead role by having to constantly deliver nonsensical speeches in an accent that is clearly not his own. Drew Starkey could give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene, and he certainly looks the part. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as the doctor living in the South American jungle. Good luck to the makeup team! This is the kind of movie that, for me, is more about artistic style than narrative substance. It was nice to see once, but I won’t be watching it again.
