Mexico City in the 1950s is the setting for Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S Burroughs’ loosely autobiographical, unfinished short novel Queer, which is a Special Presentation at the London Film Festival 2024.
Having watched director Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes bring supressed homosexual desire to the cinema earlier this year in the guise of a tennis match, I’m still not sure I was prepared to observe their next chapter of on-screen same-sex lust and connection portrayed through the medium of modern dance. And yet that’s where Queer, Guadagnino, and Kuritzkes’ adaptation of William S Burroughs’ unfinished novel, bizarrely ends up.
Daniel Craig is William Lee, an expat American living off his wealth in Mexico City in the 1950s. A heavy drinker and drug user, he spends his evenings flitting from bar to bar in search of his next conquest, until he encounters and becomes besotted with Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young American who may or may not be gay. For what may be the first time in his life, Lee attempts to develop a meaningful relationship with another person. Allerton is at times responsive towards Lee, at other times ambivalent, yet the two agree to head off into the jungle in search of yage, a plant-based drug which Lee believes holds the key to telepathy. In the company of a totally unrecognisable Lesley Manville as Dr. Cotter, a surreal journey of lust, submission, and complete physical and emotional connection ensues.
Split into three chapters and a rather bizarre epilogue, Daniel Craig is the factor which holds everything together. Eschewing the campiness of his Knives Out character, Craig gets his teeth into the role of the rather unpleasant William Lee, and we see him in turn as the lecherous barfly, the pitiable drug addict, and the ill-prepared jungle adventurer, as his search for connection beyond his addictions persists. The film’s mood moves too, from comic bar conversations (assisted by a very funny Jason Schwartzman) to cold hotel room encounters and then a dreamlike jungle experience, and it’s worth reminding oneself that the original material comes from the mind of William S Burroughs – it explains a lot.
Queer may, in fact, be easier to follow and/or appreciate if the audience has some knowledge of Burroughs’ work, as there are references that could otherwise be missed – but nothing will prepare viewers for the impact of the clever psychedelic visual effects in the jungle scenes.
A quick word too on the film’s musical accompaniment – Guadagnino has again charged Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with the score, which is naturally superb, and there’s also a collection of anachronistic tracks (ranging from Nirvana, to Prince to New Order) which add an edge to things.
Luca Guadagnino has been wanting to adapt this novel for a long time, and I hope he’s satisfied with the outcome. Audiences will, I think, be divided – either one succumbs to the trippiness or will be befuddled by it.
Queer is a Special Presentation at the London Film Festival 2024.
Mexico City in the 1950s is the setting for Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S Burroughs’ loosely autobiographical, unfinished short novel Queer, which is a Special Presentation at the London Film Festival 2024.
Having watched director Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes bring supressed homosexual desire to the cinema earlier this year in the guise of a tennis match, I’m still not sure I was prepared to observe their next chapter of on-screen same-sex lust and connection portrayed through the medium of modern dance. And yet that’s where Queer, Guadagnino, and Kuritzkes’ adaptation of William S Burroughs’ unfinished novel, bizarrely ends up.
Daniel Craig is William Lee, an expat American living off his wealth in Mexico City in the 1950s. A heavy drinker and drug user, he spends his evenings flitting from bar to bar in search of his next conquest, until he encounters and becomes besotted with Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young American who may or may not be gay. For what may be the first time in his life, Lee attempts to develop a meaningful relationship with another person. Allerton is at times responsive towards Lee, at other times ambivalent, yet the two agree to head off into the jungle in search of yage, a plant-based drug which Lee believes holds the key to telepathy. In the company of a totally unrecognisable Lesley Manville as Dr. Cotter, a surreal journey of lust, submission, and complete physical and emotional connection ensues.
Split into three chapters and a rather bizarre epilogue, Daniel Craig is the factor which holds everything together. Eschewing the campiness of his Knives Out character, Craig gets his teeth into the role of the rather unpleasant William Lee, and we see him in turn as the lecherous barfly, the pitiable drug addict, and the ill-prepared jungle adventurer, as his search for connection beyond his addictions persists. The film’s mood moves too, from comic bar conversations (assisted by a very funny Jason Schwartzman) to cold hotel room encounters and then a dreamlike jungle experience, and it’s worth reminding oneself that the original material comes from the mind of William S Burroughs – it explains a lot.
Queer may, in fact, be easier to follow and/or appreciate if the audience has some knowledge of Burroughs’ work, as there are references that could otherwise be missed – but nothing will prepare viewers for the impact of the clever psychedelic visual effects in the jungle scenes.
A quick word too on the film’s musical accompaniment – Guadagnino has again charged Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with the score, which is naturally superb, and there’s also a collection of anachronistic tracks (ranging from Nirvana, to Prince to New Order) which add an edge to things.
Luca Guadagnino has been wanting to adapt this novel for a long time, and I hope he’s satisfied with the outcome. Audiences will, I think, be divided – either one succumbs to the trippiness or will be befuddled by it.
Queer is a Special Presentation at the London Film Festival 2024.
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