Queer

In this adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novella of the same name, Lee (Daniel Craig) is an American expat living in Mexico in the 1950s who spends his time drinking heavily at bars and going through casual hookups with younger men. However, he encounters a chance for his life to change when he falls in love with Eugene (Drew Starkey), a handsome yet mysterious young man stationed in the area as a GI. As the two spend more time with each other and Lee grows more obsessed with Eugene, who remains somewhat aloof, Lee invites Eugene to travel with him to South America. There, Lee is determined to find a rumored drug that will allow him to communicate with Eugene telepathically.

A wild trip. Queer is queer in every sense of the word. Other than being a gay romance on the surface level, the film is also unabashedly strange and heady. The film will constantly jump across genres and tones, making for a very jarring experience. One part of this narrative is an erotic, heartfelt love story about a man who desperately longs to find a solution to his loneliness and disassociation from the younger man he meets. In other parts, the film also manages to be surrealist, and it will suddenly produce some ghostly or otherworldly images steeped in existentialist horror and body horror styles. Sometimes, a character will suddenly break out into a monologue that leaves one wondering whether their words were some dark, unhinged joke or genuinely unnerving. Lee constantly switches between being heart-wrenchingly relatable in his longing and suddenly being too brusque and needy to get his wants and vices. As such, it's all kind of a mess, but intentionally so. Although it is meant to alienate and unnerve, the overall experience can prove too confusing to some or even pointless to others. It's often a difficult film to follow, but it is also undeniably one of a kind. There's a dreamlike quality to the entire film that teeters constantly between lovely and nightmarish, and seeing the out-there places the film explores may indeed be confounding, but it is undeniably memorable. Ultimately, this is less a love story and more a story about desire – for someone to love, to belong, to feel flesh, and to feel more through drugs and other vices. The film, through the mess of its narrative, shows both sides of that passionate emotion: the vibrant yet fleeting beauty and the palpable dread and confusion. It is a mess to love and even messier to desire; Queer captures that mess on film.

A meticulously crafted trance. Luca Guadagnino has made a name for himself as a director for sensual, picturesque cinema, and Queer is arguably some of his best work with that distinct style. The films' visuals are a highlight here, really honing in on a dreamlike quality through very distinct and well-done craft. Guadagnino once again works with cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, who lenses the film with vibrant, hypnotic hues — mellow yellows in outdoor scenes and distinct reds and greens in apartments and motels. The production design by Stefano Baisi is also outstanding, noticeably in sets that feel lived-in while also hiding sinister or surreal details in odd floor or wallpaper patterns or even in the general shapes and designs of bars and buildings, which feel almost too expressive or even modern for the time, adding to that overall strange hazy, dreamlike quality. Finally, the lead performances are simply captivating. Starkey charms and allures so effortlessly that it becomes a no-brainer why Lee would risk life and limb for him no matter how mysterious his character can get to the point that it becomes unsympathetic. Yet Craig truly steals the entire show, able to keep up with the unpredictability of the story — nailing both silent, aching looks of deep passion and the sharp delivery of the strange monologues. Even throughout all the strangeness and the erratic nature of Lee's character, Craig is able to mesmerize through and through, and one can't help but be moved during the more authentic and relatable emotions and moments where the performance counts the most. Ultimately, though the strange mess of Queer may prove too much of a convoluted enigma for some, there is a spellbinding, otherworldly experience here for those willing to take the trip.