QUEER (2024)
Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey star in out filmmaker Luca Guadagnino's 2024 film QUEER, an adaptation of the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs.
Today’s post was selected/written by QCA guest writer João Delfim (@circus_of_my_mind on Instagram).
QUEER
2024. Italy/USA.
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Screenplay: Justin Kuritzkes
Based on: “Queer” (1985) by William S. Burroughs
Starring: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Henrique Zaga, Lesley Manville, Drew Droege, Andra Ursuta, Ariel Schulman, Andrés Duprat, Omar Apollo & David Lowery
Luca Guadagnino’s QUEER — adapted from William S. Burroughs homonymous novella — makes for a truly overwhelming watch. Set in Mexico, in the 1950s, the film follows Lee, an outcast American expatriate as he quickly grows infatuated with a younger, mysterious man, Eugene Allerton. The latter accompanies Lee on a feverish journey to South America, in a quest for yagé — a plant said to grant telepathic abilities when ingested. This synopsis alone succeeds in blowing one’s mind, but Guadagnino’s fever dream of a movie is full of surprises through the end.
Divided into three chapters, Lee’s narrative starts as a fairly typical depiction of the protagonist’s chase for attention from the object of his desire — the handsome devil, Gene. Though I believe this opening chapter to be the most unmemorable overall, the sex scenes shared by the two leads struck me as some of the purest, more vulnerable depictions of intimacy I’ve seen in a while. Guadagnino’s understanding of homoeroticism is picture-perfect, revealing but never crude, and incredibly tasteful throughout.
The last two chapters, especially the third, really caught my attention. Surrealism is as turned up as the heat in what I believe to be the movie’s triumphant moment: at last, we witness the long-awaited symbiosis between Lee and Eugene in a bold, experimental visual interpretation of the concept of telepathy. Nods to internalized homophobia and the fear of coming out are appreciated, as we finally feel long-overdue empathy toward our heroes.
Though I haven’t yet welcomed QUEER into my favourite movie list, it is certainly a testament to Guadagnino alchemist's ability to turn eeriness into beauty. Lee and Eugene’s journey mirrors the ultimate search for compassion, and even if its whimsical tone fails to deliver all the answers by the movie’s closure, it has intrigued me enough to make me want to dive into its source material in search of them.
You can find QUEER streaming on Mubi and for rent/purchase on AppleTV & Amazon.
