Folks, I had a misspent youth buried deep in “Beat Generation” literature. I spent my college years jumping back and forth between William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and many more. These figures fascinated me. So, when I heard Luca Guadagnino was bringing his signature flair to Queer, a novel from the famously complicated Burroughs, I was ready. I’ve been waiting for this movie for months, and I’m not going to pull any punches. It seems, gentle readers, Luca Guadagnino understands my brain. He knows what makes me tick. Read on.
About Queer
Queer follows William Lee (Daniel Craig), an American expat wandering through Mexico. When he meets Eugene (Drew Starkey), a young (and similarly lost) former soldier, the two strike up an intimate but complicated relationship. Jason Schwartzman and Leslie Manville co-star in the movie. Luca Guadagnino directs Queer from a script by Justin Kuritzkes. The movie is based on the William S. Burroughs novel of the same name.
As mentioned, Burroughs is famously … quirky. These are characters who often don’t know themselves, and they aren’t afraid to play with mind-altering substances. Then, there’s his literary style. These books are rough, abrasive, and not often linear. That said, Guadagnino pulls no punches. He tackles the subject with courageous direction and refuses to shy away from the narrative quirks. Ultimately, Queer is probably a film that’s going to fall squarely in the “love it or hate it” category.
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In this day and age, few filmmakers have an understanding of physical relationships and the humanity that Guadagnino injects into each and every movie. He brings a powerful understanding of the simplest of moments. The smallest brush of a leg. A hand on the shoulder. A gauzy depiction of a touch that’s yearned for but not acted upon. Guadagnino’s deep feeling for this human physicality works beautifully in conjunction with the inherent repression within Queer‘s narrative to create a powerful but seething emotion bubbling just beneath the surface.
A Beautiful Sense of Desperation
Meanwhile, Guadagnino’s decision to cast Daniel Craig works strikingly within Queer. Craig unearths a beautiful sense of desperation within Lee as a character. As mentioned, this is a tricky tale to tell, but Craig finds such depth in his character, and in this, he finds an accessible road to understanding this aimless expat. Lee’s lived this life for so long that he’s comfortable. At the same time, though, he wants to find a connection and sees this in Eugene. Craig hones in on something innately powerful in showing the yearning Lee doesn’t quite understand himself.
Even Guadagnino’s camera is dialed into the narrative’s powerful sense of inherent desire. Queer is fully dialed into Craig’s performance and, with that, his perspective. Even Guadagnino’s camera yearns for Eugene (Starkey). It loves him. The young actor is filmed with an idealized beauty that leaps off the screen. It’s easy to immediately see (and with that, understand) why Lee is drawn to this young man.
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This, however, creates a fascinating narrative contrast examining Eugene and everything with which he’s struggling. Starkey brings a deeply understated performance. To contrast Craig’s yearning and desperation, Starkey is tricky to read. This is a character weighed down with confusion, repression and an internalized self-loathing stemming from the deeply traditional culture of the United States at this time. He doesn’t know who he is; truthfully, he’s not sure he likes the person he thinks he is.
A Weighty Film
This results in a relationship that can’t quite meet each other on the same arch. Like many stories set in this era, a sense of tragedy hangs over the narrative. Moments play like an emotional gut punch thanks to both actors’ deeply felt performances. This is a weighty film, narratively, historically and even stylistically. There are so many layers in such a quiet story that, truth be told, I’m ready to see it again.
As mentioned, Queer is constructed with a faithful eye towards the structure of the original novel, and it is this structure that’s going to potentially frustrate or even alienate audiences. Throughout Queer, Guadagnino embraces the film’s listless pace. At one point, we watch (in excruciating detail) as Lee prepares to inject narcotics. While it isn’t a point-of-view shot, the camera feels like an extension of the character’s eyes.
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Guadagnino’s choice in crafting Queer‘s visual structure is, in itself, a challenge. This isn’t a fast-moving film. There’s a meandering quality to the story that is certainly visible in the camera work. It sits with shots. It simmers and lingers. For those who aren’t feeling Queer, this stylistic choice definitely has the potential to drastically slow the pace. Truthfully, by the final act, the movie does start to feel a little long.
Jumpy and Fragmented
At the same time, though, Queer isn’t afraid to get a little freaky as it dives into a second half dominated by Lee’s narcotics addiction. Queer is already jumpy and fragmented in its structure (much like Burrough’s writing). So, given that we’re very much aligned with Lee’s perspective, as he explores a mind-altering substance deep in the story, the narrative suddenly stops. We feel what he feels. We see what he sees. Does it make sense? Not really. However, yours truly loved this sequence as a moment of performance art. Guadagnino’s choices and the pure buy-in from the performers are beautiful to watch … it’s just not for everyone.
When all is said and done, Queer is not an easy watch, and this film won’t work for a lot of people. At the same time, though, there’s such beauty in Guadagnino’s courageous handling of this subject matter. It’s weird, abrasive, and occasionally more than a little freaky.
While Queer may be more than a little quirky stylistically, it’s a grounded and tragic picture of humanity. Guadagnino intimately understands the yearning that brings us together and the struggles that keep us apart. So, while Queer won’t be for everyone, for those who can find an inroad into this movie, it’s a captivatingly beautiful drama. Don’t miss this one.
Queer is in select theaters beginning December 6, 2024.
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