46/44
In 1950s Mexico City, an American immigrant in his late 50s leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival of a young student leads the man to finally make a meaningful connection with someone. Daniel Craig was the one who finally convinced Luca Guadagnino to cast Drew Starkey after watching audition tapes with Guadagnino and telling him “That’s the guy” after seeing Starkey. William Lee: Sit Down! 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 the screening of ‘Queer’ at the 2024 London Film Festival: probably 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 his… forties? Fifties? spends his days getting drunk, shooting up drugs, and having casual sex with other men. One day, a young, muscular, intelligent Eugene walks into a bar, and Lee is smitten. But what does Eugene himself 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 solid colors—dull reds and olive greens, for example—and have that vaguely unrealistic, clean Technicolor look that made me think it was meant to pay homage to the movies of the era in which the film is set. But if that’s the case, why the decidedly non-’50s-rock-and-techno soundtrack? Daniel Craig (is it my imagination, or is he starting to sound like Sid James?) is hamstrung in the lead role by having to constantly spout nonsensical speeches in an accent that’s clearly not his own. Drew Starkey is able to give a more nuanced performance as the manipulative Eugene, and he certainly looks the part preppy. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle – well done to the makeup team! This is the kind of film that seems to me to be more about artistic style than narrative substance. It was good to watch once, but I won’t watch it again.