William Lee: Sit on your ass!
Tale
In 1950s Mexico City, an American expat in his forties lives a lonely life in a small American community. But the arrival of a young college student prompts the man to form a meaningful bond with someone. Ultimately, it was Daniel Craig who convinced Luca Guadagnino to cast Drew Starkey after watching Guadagnino’s audition tapes and telling him, “That’s the guy” after watching Starkey’s film. Or what’s left of it after four years in the Navy.
The film features Orpheus (1950)
I’ve never seen Naked Lunch (1991), but I thought of it a lot when Queer was screened at the London Film Festival in 2024: perhaps to be expected, since William S. Burroughs provided the source material for both films. In 1950s Mexico, William Lee, an American writer on the wrong side of… forties? Fifty?
But what does Eugene want?
He spends his days getting drunk, injecting drugs, and having sex with other men. One day, a muscular, intelligent young hunk named Eugene walks into the bar, and Lee is smitten. And then there’s that telepathic drug to think about… I’m not sure what director Luca Guadagnino is trying to achieve stylistically with this film.
But if that’s the case, why is the soundtrack decidedly not ’50s rock and techno?
The sets are decorated almost entirely in solid colors – dull reds and olive greens, for example – and have this vaguely unrealistic, clean, colorful look that made me think the intention was to pay homage to the films of the era the film is set in. Daniel Craig (is it my imagination, or is he starting to look like Sid James?) is hamstrung in the lead role, constantly having to deliver nonsensical speeches in an accent that is clearly not his own. Drew Starkey is able to give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene and certainly looks the part. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle – kudos to the make-up team!
I watched it once but won’t watch it again
This is the kind of film that strikes me as more artistic than storytelling.
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