37/48

In 1950s Mexico City, an American immigrant in his forties lives a lonely life in the middle of a small American community. However, the arrival of a young student leads the man to finally develop a serious relationship with someone. Daniel Craig was ultimately the one who convinced Luca Guadagnino for the role of Drew Starkey after watching the casting videos with Guadagnino and telling him “that’s a friend” after seeing Starkey… William Lee: Sit on your butt! Or what’s left of it after four years in the Navy. Appearances on The Graham Norton Show: Daniel Craig/Nicola Coughlan/Jesse Eisenberg/Kieran Culkin/Flo (2024). I’ve never seen Naked Lunch (1991), but I found myself thinking about it a lot during the 2024 London Film Festival screening of Queer: probably to be expected, given that William S. Burroughs provided the template for both films. In 1950s’ Mexico City, William Lee, American writer on the wrong side of… Forty? Fifty? Spends his days getting drunk, shooting up, and having casual sex with other men. One day, a muscular, intelligent young man named Eugene walks into the bar, and Lee is shocked. 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 achieve stylistically with this film. The sets are almost entirely in block colors—muted reds and olive greens, for example—and have this surreal, pure Technicolor look that made me think the intention was to pay homage to the films of the era in which the film is set. But if that’s the case, why the decidedly non-’50s rock and techno soundtrack? Daniel Craig (am I imagining it, or is he starting to look like Sid James?) is stuck in the lead role because he’s constantly required to spout nonsense in an accent that’s clearly not his own. Drew Starkey gets a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene, and certainly comes across as prepared. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle—kudos to the makeup team! This is the kind of film I’m more concerned with artistic style than storytelling. It was nice to watch once, but I won’t watch it again.