27/44
In 1950s Mexico City, an American immigrant in his late forties lives a lonely life in the midst of a small American community. But the arrival of a young student finally inspires the man to enter into a serious relationship with someone. It was Daniel Craig who convinced Luca Guadagnino to cast Drew Starkey after he watched the audition tapes with Guadagnino and saw Starkey and said, โThatโs the guy.โ ” William Lee: Sit on your ass! Or whatโs left of it after four years in the Navy. Appearing on The Graham Norton Show: Daniel Craig/Nicola Coughlan/Jesse Eisenberg/Kieran Culkin/Flo (2024). I never saw Naked Lunch. (1991) But I thought about it a lot during the screening of Queer at the 2024 London Film Festival: probably that was not surprising, since William S. Burroughs provided the template for both films. In 1950s Mexico, American writer William Lee, … forty? Fifty years old? He spends his time drinking, shooting and having casual sex with other men. One day Eugene, a muscular, intelligent young guy, comes to the bar and Lee is shocked. But what does Eugene himself want? And besides, there’s that telepathic drug to consider… Stylistically, I’m not sure what director Luca Guadagnino is trying to achieve with this film. The sets are almost in block colors – dark red and olive green, for example – and have this slightly surreal, clean Technicolor look that I think was meant to be an homage to the films of the era the film is set in. But if that’s the case, why is there a rock and techno soundtrack that doesn’t fit in with the ’50s? Daniel Craig (am I imagining it or is he starting to sound like Sid James?) is hampered in his lead role by having to constantly utter absurd things in an accent that is obviously not his own. Drew Starkey gives a subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene and certainly looks prepared for the role. Leslie Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle – kudos to the make-up team! In my opinion, this type of film is more about the artistic style than the substance of the storytelling. It’s OK for a one-time viewing, but I won’t watch it again.
