Queer - 💥💥💥💥

Director: Luca Guadagnino 

Writers: Justin Kuritzkes (screenplay by) and William S. Burroughs (based on the novel by)

Release Date: 13th December 2024 

Hot Rating: 💥💥💥💥

Synopsis: In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee (Daniel Craig), an American expatriate, navigates a world of addicts and outcasts as he grapples with his own desires and alienation. He is drawn into a complex relationship with a young man named Allerton (Drew Starkey), haze of obsession and self-destruction.

 

Review: Queer is a hypnotic adaptation that captures the raw energy of William S. Burroughs' novel. The film is an immersive trip into the seedy underbelly of 1950s Mexico City through setpieces in smoky bars and clubs. Guadagnino does a great job in translating Burroughs' prose to the screen, retaining the novel's meandering descriptions and quick-witted dialogue with stylistic rigour. Queer is, indeed, a visual and auditory feast, with striking, often phantastical cinematography and a soundtrack that blends period jazz with unexpected needle drops from Nirvana, Sinéad O'Connor and New Order. Where this adaptation propels the psychedelic to the forefront, Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey harness the human core of Burrough's novel with stellar performances, really embodying their characters with carefully placed movements against one another. Queer is fundamentally a film that demands attention, ramping up even Gudagnino’s own stylistic capabilities to highlight universal themes; loneliness, longing and unrequited love.

Image: YouTube