Queer (2024), directed by Luca Guadagnino, is a beautifully filmed disappointment. The William Burroughs adaptation stars Daniel Craig and Drew Starkley and is set in Mexico City during the 1950s. And while Craig and Starkley may not have much on-screen chemistry, they do give us a stellar portrayal of unorthodox characters. Spoilers below!
There are bright colors, scenic window shots, and openly queer communities, capturing a sense of pre-Stonewall conformity. However, instead of telling a complex, cohesive love story, we’re given three acts of a one-sided, sometimes nonconsensual, tale.
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Craig’s queer characters are often more at war with themselves than the world around them.
Lee (Craig) is an older queer man who painfully reeks of low self-esteem and desperation. The movie opens with him attempting to sleep with a handful of men at the queer clubs he frequents, and it’s almost hard to watch his sloppy mannerisms and montage of rejections.
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It’s even more cringe when he spots Eugene (Starkey) for the first time in his favorite club and makes a fool of himself by gesturing toward him. Eugene, expressionless, stares at him with a puzzled demeanor before a woman comes in to sit with him and shifts his attention. Lee gets frustrated after being embarrassed in front of everyone and goes to another bar, where he meets a handsome stranger, played by Omar Apollo, and the two have a one-night stand.
When Lee spots Eugene again, he approaches him to establish a seemingly innocent friendship, and the two spend the entirety of the first two acts growing closer.
Unfortunately, this is when the film starts to feel less like a yearning romance and more like a nightmare. Lee and Eugene end up sleeping together, but it’s not exactly rewarding because it feels one-sided. Lee intimately goes down on Eugene, and in return, Eugene gives him a quick “handy” that’s notably less enthusiastic. Eugene quickly becomes standoffish and begins avoiding him. But this doesn’t stop Lee, who is on a mission to pursue Eugene aggressively.
There’s even a scene where Lee attempts to kiss him outside of sex, and Eugene strikes him hard, sending Lee to the floor with a rush of apologies spilling from his lips.
Not to mention, the ending of Act 2 and the entirety of Act 3 almost feel like a fever dream as the movie rushes to explore Lee’s adventurous nature, opium addiction, and need for romantic attention.
It’s not the film’s themes or environment that’s disappointing— it’s the monotonous, unlikeable characters and oversaturated plot that don’t work well together. We wish the movie would’ve further explored the power imbalance of taboo age gaps for queer men, the desirability politics in the queer community and focused more on character-building rather than world-building.
Alas, not every queer movie is great!
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