A One Mann’s Movies review of “Queer” (2024) (From the 2024 London Film Festival).
“Queer”, the latest from Luca Guadagnino, starts off promisingly with a well-shot period piece set in Mexico City. After that though, the film (possibly driven by William S. Burroughs’ book on which it’s based) rather loses its way and goes off on a wild tangent into the Amazon.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Queer” Plot Summary:
Lee (Daniel Craig) is a perpetually drunk gay man looking for conquests in Mexico City. When he meets Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) he commences a journey around Latin America in search of fulfillment.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (At the time of writing, the film has not been reviewed by the BBFC but I would expect it to be an 18 based on extensive gay sex scenes and scenes of drug misuse.)
Talent:
Starring: Daniel Craig, Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, Drew Starkey, David Lowery, Henrique Zaga .
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino.
Written by: Justin Kuritzkes. (From the novel by William S. Burroughs.)
Running Time: 2h 15m.
“Queer” Summary:
Positives:
- Superb visuals for the first part of the film in Mexico City.
- Daniel Craig gives an outstanding performance as the gay wolf on the prowl.
Negatives:
- The film’s plot progressively goes downhill.
Review of “Queer”:
The Mexico City section is entertaining.
We start the film in Mexico City in the late 40’s (judging from the music choices). William Lee (Daniel Craig) is a louche gay man who stalks the city’s streets like an animal looking for his next sex-fix. Lee blames his proclivities on his genes: “The Lees have always been perverts” he states.
The gay sex scene is clearly big in this part of town, but Lee has his standards. For some of those at “The Green Lantern” he shows disdain: “He’s so queer, I’ve lost interest in him” he comments. But Lee does have his sights set on a man called Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), although he is unsure as to his sexual orientation for quite some time. He befriends Allerton, with some neat visuals of Lee’s ghostly hand carressing his face. (As it turns out, he is gay or bisexual as demonstrated by a number of extremely explicit gay sex scenes that follow.)
Providing some comic relief is Joe (Jason Schwartzman, with the pounds loaded on). Joe, another gay, is always complaining about being robbed by his lovers who he takes home for sex. “That’s what hotels are for” comments Lee dryly.
The production design and cinematography for these sequences are excellent. (The cinematography is by by the “Challengers” cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom.)
Off the Amazonian rails
For me, the film starts to lose its way when Lee and Eugene start travelling in South America. But then it is completely derailed for me when Lee goes off in pursuit of some magical Amazonian McGuffin that is supposed to be being trialled by the KGB and the CIA to aid telepathy. Keeper of the medical secrets is Dr Cotter, a wild women in the jungle with a viper as a security guard, played by an unrecognisable (to me anyway) Leslie Manville. A hallucinatory drug-taking scene follows that is quite well done, but all the subtle storytelling in the first chapter of the film seems a distant memory by then.
Daniel Craig Oscar nomination?
Daniel Craig has previously had a BAFTA Acting nomination (for “Casino Royale”) but an Academy Award nomination has eluded him. This feels like it could be his big chance. For although I wasn’t wowed by the film overall, I was wowed by Craig’s performance in it. He does ‘drunk’ very well. In addition, there is a sequence where he has just taken heroin and the camera stays on him in close-up for a good few minutes while it takes effect. It’s a brilliant piece of acting and has ‘Oscar reel’ written all over it.
One thing’s clear. Craig is trying to put as much distance between himself and the womanising Bond as possible. In “Glass Onion” it was implied that he had a male partner (in the form of Hugh Grant). Here, he goes into full “no holds barred” gay love making! James who??
David Lowery
It’s also interesting that the director David (“The Green Knight”) Lowery features in the film, though I have to admit I forgot to look out for him!
Summary Thoughts on “Queer”
It’s a queer film with no pun intended. I’m coming to the conclusion that I’m not a great fan of Luca Guadagnino. Although I did enjoy “Challengers“, I was not a great fan of “Call Me By Your Name” (going against the general flow), and I had big expectations for “Bones and All” but was very disappointed by it. Here’s another one to add to the negative balance.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Queer”:
At the time of writing, there is no trailer yet available for the film. In the meantime, here is a clip from the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teD48Kt6FMk.
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