12/48
In 1950s Mexico City, an American immigrant in his late forties leads a lonely life in a small American community. However, the arrival of a young student prompts the man to finally form a meaningful connection with someone.. Daniel Craig was the one who ultimately convinced Luca Guadagnino to cast Drew Starkey after watching Guadagnino’s audition tapes and telling him "That's the guy" after seeing Starkey’s.. William Lee: Sit on Your Ass! Or What’s Left of It After Four Years in the Navy.. Featured on The Graham Norton Show: Daniel Craig/Nicola Coughlan/Jesse Eisenberg/Kieran Culkin/Flo (2024). I’ve never seen 'Naked Lunch' (1991), but I found myself thinking about it often during a screening of 'Queer' at the 2024 London Film Festival: probably to be expected, as William S Burroughs provided the source material for both films. In 1950s Mexico, William Lee, an American writer from the wrong side of the… forties? fifties? He spends his days getting drunk, shooting and casually having sex with other men. One day, a muscular, smart young man named Eugene walks into a bar and Lee is delighted. But what does Eugene want? Plus there’s that telepathic drug to think about… I’m not sure what, stylistically, director Luca Guadagnino is trying to achieve with this film. The sets are decorated almost exclusively in block colours – dull reds and olive greens, for example – and have that vaguely unrealistic, clean, Technicolor look that makes me think the intention is to pay homage to the films of the era in which the film is set. But if that’s the case, why the decidedly non-1950s rock and techno soundtrack? Daniel Craig (is it my imagination or is he starting to sound like Sid James?) is hampered in the lead role by having to constantly recite nonsense in an accent that is clearly not his. Drew Starkey could give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene, and he certainly looks elegant. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle – bravo to the makeup team! This is the kind of film that seems more about artistic style than storytelling content to me. It was okay to see once, but I won’t be watching it again.
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