12/20
In 1950s Mexico City, a forty-something American immigrant leads a lonely life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival of a young student prompts the man to finally make a meaningful connection with someone. Daniel Craig was ultimately the one to convince Luca Guadagnino to cast Drew Starkey after watching audition tapes with Guadagnino and telling him “That’s the guy” after seeing Starkey. William Lee: Sit on your ass! Or what’s left of it after four years in the Navy. Featured on The Graham Norton Show: Daniel Craig/Nicola Coughlan/Jesse Eisenberg/Kieran Culkin/Flo (2024). I’ve never seen ‘Naked Lunch’ (1991) but found myself thinking about it frequently during the screening of ‘Queer’ at the 2024 London Film Festival – probably to be expected as William S Burroughs provided the source material for both films. In 1950s Mexico, William Lee, an American writer on the wrong side of… forty? Fifties?, spends his days getting drunk, shooting up, and having casual sex with other men. One day, Eugene, a muscular, intelligent young man, walks into the bar and Lee falls in love. But what does Eugene himself want? Plus, there’s that telepathic drug to think about… I’m not sure what director Luca Guadagnino is trying to accomplish, stylistically, with this film. The sets are almost exclusively done in solid colors (dull reds and olive greens, for example) and have that vaguely unreal, clean, technicolor look that made me think the intention is to pay homage to the films of the era in which the film is set. But if that’s the case, why the decidedly un-50s-esque 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 constantly having to deliver meaningless speeches in an accent that is clearly not his own. Drew Starkey is able to give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene, and certainly looks the part. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle. Well done to the make-up team! This is the kind of film that strikes me as more about artistic style than narrative substance. It was fine to watch once, but I won’t be watching it again.