The writings of William S. Burroughs were never about plot; instead, they were more thought-driven, confessional exercises about the inner workings of addiction, with such works as Junkie and Naked Lunch. His works were experimental, often featuring highly unreliable narrators, including the character William Lee in the novella (and semi-sequel to Junkie) Queer, which was written before Naked Lunch (in the early 1950s) but not published until 1985. Leave it to the great, heady filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, the Suspiria remake, and Challengers from earlier this year) to take what is essentially a state-of-mind experience with a dash of perpetual horniness and turn it into one of the more memorable cinematic experiences of the year.
Lee (played by the absolutely game Daniel Craig) is a middle-aged, American expat living in Mexico City and spending most of his days entirely alone, with just a smattering of connections with other members of the small American community who also live there. Most notably among them is Joe Guidry (an almost unrecognizable Jason Schwartzman), who shares stories of hooking up with the young men around town who continuously rip him off, never learning from his own example. While the film (adapted by Justin Kuritzkes) drifts in the beginning, simply taking note of Lee’s drunken behavior in various settings, it eventually stabilizes a bit when he becomes acquainted with Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a much younger ex-soldier, new to the city and the scene, with Lee taking it upon himself to show him the town while showing himself that intimacy with somebody might still be possible for him.
Junkie was a story about a man using heroin as a protective shield, but Queer shows Lee off heroin and far more vulnerable (even in his perpetually drunken state) and insecure, and Craig truly captures this with a precision that is both sloppy and delicate. While Allerton comes across as aloof, difficult to read, and sometimes uncertain as to whether a relationship with a man is even what he wants, it's that push and pull between the two men that drives this film and gives it its necessary tension.
The film is bathed in a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross combined with songs from the 1980s-’90s (Burroughs collaborators Nirvana get a couple songs, as does Prince, New Order, Radiohead, and even more recent tunes from Orville Peck and Perfume Genius). Queer eventually shifts locations to the jungles of South America where Lee and Allerton go in search of a mysterious drug (which turns out to be Ayahuasca) and encounter researcher Dr. Cotter (an even more unrecognizable Lesley Manville), who sets them up on a mind-bending trip that alters the very chemistry of their relationship.
I don’t want to talk too much about the end of the film because it mixes up stories from Burroughs’ messy life that may confuse some people (including myself), but when all is said and done, I was tremendously moved and slightly shaken by Queer for how beautifully it portrays this broken, desperate man trying to cling to connection with another person just at the point where he was about to give up thinking that was in the cards. For those of you for whom gay themes in any art form make you uncomfortable, seeing James Bond do what he does sexually in this movie probably isn’t going to be what rattles you when watching this movie. Craig’s fleeting confidence is unnerving, and watching him barely cling to his romantic ideals is tragic. This is one of his best performances, even when the film doesn’t always quite support him entirely.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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