InCinemas SG

Format(s) Available

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Opening Date

01 May 2025

Rating

R21 Homosexual Content

Runtime

135 mins

Language

English with English subtitles

Genre

Drama, Romance

Director

Luca Guadagnino

Cast

Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Henrique Zaga, Drew Droege, Andra Ursuta, Ariel Schulman, Andres Duprat, Omar Apollo, David Lowery, Lisandro Alonso, Michael Borremans, Michael Kent, Colin Bates, Ronia Ava, Leslie Manville

Synopsis

In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee, an American ex-pat in his late forties, leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton, a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

Reviews

By InCinemas 28 Apr 2025

A sensual exploration of desire for intimacy.

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Queer is a period romance drama based on the 1985 novella of the same name by William S. Burroughs, which in itself is partially a sequel to his 1953 novella Junkie (a book based the story on his own experiences with drugs.)

Set in Mexico City in the 1950s, the film follows American expatriate William Lee who spends his days barhopping in pursuit of ~~young men~~ romantic dalliances until one faithful day when young Navyman Eugene Allerton catches his eye. Lee immediately develops a strong attraction and spends the rest of the film chasing after the object of his affections to fill the dread of his loneliness. Starring Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman and Leslie Manville, Queer is directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Challengers) from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes (Challengers).

Lee and Allerton eventually form a bond but as soon as that culminates into a sexual night, the younger man distances himself and thus begins a push and pull affair between the two. Allerton’s indifference and unpredictable moods serve as the film’s catalyst, driving Lee to do all he can just to keep Allerton close. He’s an enigma who won’t allow himself to be classified, only ever willing to give in to Lee’s advances in sporadic doses.

A sensual exploration of intimacy with the complications of unrequited love, the film tells the story of a man so desperate for connection, he’ll literally travel to the depths of a jungle for the promise of a plant that could grant its consumer telepathic means – Lee’s last ditch attempt for Allerton to want him as much as he wants him. But as the elusive Doctor Cotter (an almost unrecognisable Manville) warns Lee, the hallucinogenic experience is not a portal, but a mirror and he might not like what he sees, which by then it might be too late. A theory so proven when a spooked Allerton post-experience eventually disappears from Lee's life just as he had so easily come into it, leaving the older man alone once again.

Starkey is perfectly cast as the fetching love interest that exudes just the right amount of boyish charm to play Allerton. His telling mannerisms are small but powerful. Our only gripe is that his character doesn’t get fully fleshed out beyond being eye-candy and Lee’s physical and emotional support.

But maybe that’s all fine because the focus is on Lee and while Craig’s casting may be a contentious choice, it sure was interesting to see him take on role that strips him of his usual charismatic power. Lee couldn’t be more different from James Bond – sporting dirt caked nails, sweat-soaked skin and matted hair – he’s hardly the suave man that could easily get people to follow him home if not for his persistance and money. The stench of desperation that follows him like a cloud of smoke makes him almost painful and embarassing to watch, a testament to the Englishman’s passioned performance to protray Lee’s despair to a tee.

The film invokes similar characteristics of Guadagnino’s filmography, presented in a beautiful stupor thanks to frequent collaborator Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s cinematography of the detailed townscape. It’s easy to get lost in the muted hues and later taken on an atmospheric psychedelic ride, an all but magical experience if not for the heartbreaking reality of loneliness.

Queer is essentially a poignant tale of a lonely man’s desire for reciprocated love with powerful performances that will leave you in quiet resonance as the credits roll.
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