Queer is a 2024 period romantic drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes, based on the 1985 novella of the same name by William S. Burroughs. Set in 1950s Mexico City, the film follows an outcast American expat (Daniel Craig) who becomes infatuated with a younger man (Drew Starkey). Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, Henry Zaga, and Omar Apollo also star.
Queer premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2024, where it played in-competition for the Golden Lion. It was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 27, by A24, and was released nationwide on December 13. The film has received generally positive reviews from critics and was named one of the Top Ten Films of 2024 by the National Board of Review, where Craig was awarded the Best Actor prize. Craig was also nominated for the Golden Globe, the Critics’ Choice, and the Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance.
Trailer
Cast
Daniel Craig as William Lee
Drew Starkey as Eugene Allerton
Lesley Manville as Dr. Cotter
Jason Schwartzman as Joe
Henry Zaga as Winston Moor
Omar Apollo as Chimu Bar Guy
Drew Droege as John Dumé
Ariel Schulman as Tom Weston
David Lowery as Jim Cochan
Colin Bates as Tom Williams
Ronia Ava as Joan
Simon Rizzoni as Bartender
Michaël Borremans as Doctor
Andra Ursuța as Mary
Lisandro Alonso as Mr. Cotter
The Story
In 1950, William Lee is an American expatriate living in Mexico City, passing time by bar hopping and indulging in sexual activities with younger men. One evening, he catches sight of Eugene Allerton, a young GI who is also an American expatriate. Lee grows obsessed with Allerton, pursuing him across various bars, hoping to gain his affection.
The pair establish a relationship, but Allerton maintains an emotional distance from Lee and is often seen with a woman, despite Lee’s obvious desire for connection. Allerton explains this by suggesting he does not see himself as “queer” in the same way as Lee does. Lee invites Allerton to travel with him to South America in the hopes of finding yagé, a plant said to offer telepathic abilities. Allerton seems reluctant but eventually accepts Lee’s invitation.
While on the trip, Lee’s drug dependency brings on a bout of dysentery. Allerton continues to keep Lee at a distance. Lee hears of a doctor living in Quito who could assist him in his search for yagé.
The two men arrive in the Ecuadorian jungle to meet Dr. Cotter, who warms to the men and creates ayahuasca for them by brewing the yagé found in the forest. Lee and Allerton experience vivid hallucinations from the drug. They vomit out their hearts, communicate telepathically and meld their bodies together. Allerton tells Lee, “I’m not queer. I’m disembodied”, which Lee had said in one of his dreams.
The next morning, Dr. Cotter suggests the men stay to further explore the effects of yagé. However, shaken by the experience, Allerton is keen to leave and Lee follows.
Two years later, Lee returns to Mexico City. He is told that Allerton has taken another trip to South America as a guide for an army colonel, and has not been seen or heard from since. In a dream, Lee discovers Allerton in a hotel room adjacent to his. Allerton engages Lee in a round of William Tell by placing a glass on his head. Lee shoots Allerton in the head, then holds his body until it vanishes, before he vanishes himself.
Lee finds himself in his hotel room, now an elderly man. Lying on his bed, a still-youthful Allerton joins and cradles him.
Production
Guadagnino wanted to make an adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ 1985 novel Queer since he read the book when he was 17. In April 2022 he mentioned the book to screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes while they were on set for their film Challengers (2024) in Boston. Guadagnino bought Kuritzkes a copy, which he read and loved. Producer Lorenzo Mieli found the rights to the book, which they secured after a call with James Grauerholz, the literary executor of Burroughs’ estate. Kuritzkes began writing the script while they were still working on Challengers. The book was published unfinished, so Kuritzkes and Guadagnino consulted Burroughs’ scholar Oliver Harris, on how to give the text a fitting ending, while maintaining the author’s vision. Guadagnino described Queer as his most personal film and a tribute to the films of Powell and Pressburger, concretely The Red Shoes (1948), “I think they would appreciate the sex scenes in Queer, which are numerous and quite scandalous”.
It was announced in December 2022 that Daniel Craig was in talks to star in the film. Craig was cast after Guadagnino’s agent Bryan Lourd had sent the script to the actor, “Daniel and I were on the phone a week later. Then, a week passed, and he was in the movie”. Guadagnino recalled. In April 2023, Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, and Henry Zaga were revealed to be in the cast. Starkey was cast after an audition tape he had made for another project landed in front of Guadagnino. Guadagnino consulted with Craig on casting Starkey, and Craig, after watching the tape, told Guadagnino: “That’s the guy”. They auditioned 300 people for the role. In June 2024 it was reported directors Ariel Schulman, Lisandro Alonso and David Lowery would be appearing on the film.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score for Queer, their third collaboration with Guadagnino following Bones and All in 2022 and Challengers in 2024. The Spanish-language “Te Maldigo”, performed by Omar Apollo, who stars in the film, was the first song released from the soundtrack. The album featuring the original score was released on December 6, 2024, through Milan Records; the first track “Vaster than Empires”, performed by Reznor and Brazilian composer Caetano Veloso, contains lyrics from Burroughs’ final diary entry. On December 13, “Vaster than Empires” was rereleased featuring Alan Sparhawk and BJ Burton instead of Veloso.
All music is composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross; William S. Burroughs is additionally credited as a writer on “Vaster than Empires”.
Gallery
Filming and Post Production
Principal photography began in Rome, Italy on April 29, 2023. The project was filmed at Cinecittà Studios. Additional scenes were shot in Quito, Ecuador, standing in for Mexico City. Production wrapped on June 29, 2023. Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe, served as costume designer, marking his second collaboration with Guadagnino following Challengers.
The original cut submitted to and accepted by the Venice Film Festival was 185 to 200 minutes long before being cut down to its final length of 135 minutes
Release and Reception
In February 2024, Variety reported that the film was expected to hit the festival circuit in late 2024. This was confirmed in July 2024, when it was announced that Queer would have its world premiere in-competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. In August 2024, the film was the first announced in the Spotlight Gala of the 62nd New York Film Festival. That same month, A24 acquired the film’s distribution rights for the United States. In October 2024, Mubi acquired the film rights for multiple regions, including streaming in Italy, but the film was banned in Turkey, leading Mubi to cancel a film festival which the film was set to open. It is scheduled for a limited release in the United States on November 27, 2024.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 68 critics gave the film a positive review and the average rating was 7.1 out of 10. The critics’ consensus on the website reads: “A phantasmagorical distillation of William S. Burroughs’ preoccupations that’s by turns meandering and vital, Queer marks one of Daniel Craig’s most sterling performances yet.” Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 27 critics’ reviews, indicating a “generally favorable” response.
Craig was widely praised for his performance, with The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw describing it as a “really funny, open, generous performance – perhaps the only disadvantage is that he upstages Starkey”.
The Times found the film to be visually appealing but lacking in substance.
Director John Waters ranked Queer second on a list of his favorite movies of 2024, writing that Craig “may be queerbait for taking on the gay beatnik role of William Burroughs’s alter ego, but I’m all for it.” Filmmakers Agnieszka Holland, Edward Berger, Denis Villeneuve, Azazel Jacobs, and Celine Song have also cited it as among their favorite films of 2024. PopMatters included it on their list of “Best of 2024”.
Accolades
References at Wikipedia
