THE STORY – 1950. William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City in his early 50s, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton, a young student new to the city, shows him, for the first time, that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody.
THE CAST – Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman & Henry Zaga
THE TEAM – Luca Guadagnino (Director) & Justin Kuritzkes (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 135 Minutes
There’s no other director currently working who is more in love with showing burning desire, passion, and yearning than Luca Guadagnino. From the lustful “A Bigger Splash” to the tender “Call Me By Your Name” to his ultra sleek and sexy “Challengers,” this is one area we can always expect the Italian to deliver in. But his latest film, “Queer,” makes those other films look like child’s play in comparison. Marking his second collaboration with writer Justin Kuritzkes and second of this year (“Challengers“), “Queer,” adapted from William S. Burroughs’ unfinished novel, takes sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll to a whole new level with steamy full frontal love scenes and an audacious vision. It’s Daniel Craig like you’ve never seen him before, ditching his usual cool demeanor to play an insecure man desperate for connection, and a star-making moment for Drew Starkey, who is irresistible eye candy just like Jude Law in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” But the film is also quite out there for its own good, especially when it transitions into a wild trip that is too confusing to fully make out.
Craig’s suave persona when playing James Bond is a far cry from the insecure, desperate, and often embarrassingly sloppy William Lee, an American expat living in Mexico City in the 1950s. Spending most of his time at the Ship Ahoy bar, he’s always after the next partner he can bring to a grimy, neon-illuminated hotel, almost as much as he’s after his next tequila shot or heroin high (some of Lee’s colorful hallucinations and dreams pop up from time to time). In this corner of the world, gay men rule the streets (although Lee always has a pistol on him), and he and his friend Joe (Jason Schwartzman, who has the most fun in this movie) always seem to be going after the wrong ones. But then Lee spots Allerton (Drew Starkey) passing by a cockfight, looking like a god in a tight shirt, well-pressed pants, and slicked-back hair (his slow-mo intro is paired to Nirvana’s “Come as You Are,” one of many interesting music choices in the film).
He acts like a giddy schoolboy whenever he sees Allerton around town, coming on a bit too awkward and strong, and it’s so entertaining to watch Craig entirely go all-in on his character’s messiness. Starkey, by contrast, plays Allerton as cool and disinterested, making their interactions all the more interesting because you never know how either one will play off the other. Allerton is a peculiar man to Lee, mainly because he’s frequently getting cozy with a redhead named Mary (Andra Ursuta) while also asking the gay men in the city to show him around the gay bars. Lee doesn’t know what to make of Allerton’s sexuality, but it doesn’t diminish his lust for him.
While “Call Me By Your Name” was a tenderly handled coming-of-age love story, Guadagnino spares no sweat, spit or sloppy sound with “Queer.” When Lee and Allerton share their first intimate night together, the camera doesn’t turn away from them as it did in the former film. Instead, you see the longing and desire in their eyes, so much that you can practically feel how fast their hearts are beating. Guadagnino takes great pride in showing these two men’s pleasure, showing their point of view, whether they’re giving or receiving oral sex, and indulging in the moans and quickened breaths that come from them both. A post-sex cigarette drag has never been more deserved.
“Queer” is at its best when it focuses on their relationship, in which Lee grows ever so attached to Allerton, while the younger man grows distant and bored of him until he shows him a little attention. It’s quite heartbreaking, and even sad, to see just how much Lee craves this man and any acknowledgment he can get, making us wonder what happened to him in his past. We don’t get those answers, but Craig’s performance more than makes up for it, especially when jealousy radiates off him whenever he sees Allerton near someone else. When he suggests that the two of them get away and explore South America together, he hinges on Allerton’s every word until the young man agrees.
Once the film moves away from Mexico City, it starts becoming its own hallucinatory experience, a bold move for Guadagnino and Kuritzkes, who changed Burroughs’ original story but one that will be divisive for audiences. As the two men explore the continent together, Lee’s drug addiction takes center stage, experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. Throughout the film, Lee is also obsessed with getting his hands on the yage plant, which is used to make the psychoactive beverage ayahuasca. He brings it up in random conversations, going on and on about how he read about the CIA and Russians using it, and he’s most interested in it for telepathy purposes, drunkenly telling Allerton at a party one night he wants to do things with him without having to say them. Their adventures take them through the jungle to meet a kooky Dr. Cotter (an unrecognizable Lesley Manville), leading to an out-of-this-world night. It’s hard to believe this is the same movie by this point, shifting so drastically from its love story at the start. Nightmarish images are out in full force, like dance sequences that evoke shades of “Suspiria” and their skin morphing together. If you expect there to be much of a resolution or explanation for what you see and hear, don’t get your hopes up. It’s basically Guadagnino’s version of “2001: A Space Odyssey” ending: A little too weird and confusing to fully make sense.
“Queer” is unapologetically here and queer, but if you’re expecting a simple love story, you’re in for quite a wild ride once you get through with this one. Guadagnino takes a big risk with this film, which does deserve kudos, but it’s far more daring than most will expect or appreciate. Regardless of where this film ends up, we’ll be talking about it for a long time, especially its dynamic pairing of Craig and Starkey, who capture a love story unlike any other.
