Summary
An ambitious but uneven adaptation, Guadagnino captures Burroughs’ disarray and longing but can’t fully escape the shadow of its source material.
Luca Guadagnino’s second film of the year doesn’t quite land with the same electric charge as Challengers, despite reassembling much of the same creative team. Adapted from William S. Burroughs’ 1985 novella, QUEER drops us straight into the dirty sheets of its story, already rumpled and in motion.
The opening title sequence—featuring an artfully messy arrangement of items like stained shorts, photographic slides, and guns sprawled across a dingy mattress—encapsulates Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes’ interpretation of the material. We’re thrust into 1950s Mexico City, a world crafted to feel authentically worn and lived in, immersing us in its disheveled intimacy from the outset.
In fact, few moments escape the pervasive sheen of sweat and grime. William Lee (Daniel Craig)—adopting the same pseudonym for Burroughs that David Cronenberg used in Naked Lunch—is introduced as a fixture of the clubs and bars south of the border, having fled New Orleans after a drug-related crime. In this insular, alcohol-soaked environment, Lee becomes fixated by Eugene (Drew Starkey), a discharged serviceman eking out an existence along the same fringes.
QUEER juggles many ideas, careening from intimate and hurried motel trysts to a surreal quest for a psychotropic plant in South America, all in pursuit of telepathic connection. Yet the film resonates most when it stays grounded in its immediate world, allowing its cast of characters to flourish—such as Jason Schwartzman’s rotund and self-assured fellow writer, a figure seemingly free from the inhibitions that plague Lee. This contrast sharpens the film’s focus on Lee’s fragmented sense of self.
At its heart, this is a story about relationships that defy conventional boundaries of queerness, set against the backdrop of an era that stifled open exploration of identity. Lee’s turmoil—manifested in his destructive reliance on booze, drugs, and the escapism of hallucinations—underscores this struggle. When he confides in Eugene that his “proclivities” feel like a “curse,” the dreamlike refrain “I’m not queer, I’m disembodied” becomes a repeated line about Lee’s alienation.
Like earlier Burroughs adaptations, Guadagnino incorporates elements of the author’s life, adding depth to Craig’s portrayal. One scene sees Lee envisioning a William Tell routine with Eugene, a grim nod to the real-life death of Joan Vollmer. Burroughs was in Mexico awaiting trial during the period in which Queer was written. Craig delivers an award-worthy performance, his sunken, wearied and needy expressions anchoring the role so convincingly that it’s easy to overlook the muscular physique that contrasts sharply with Burroughs’ own gaunt, junkie frame.
Guadagnino leans into the hallucinogenic aspects of Burroughs’ oeuvre, though he applies them sparingly. Lee’s yearning for connection with Eugene is visualised through ghostly projections: his hand caressing Eugene’s face or leaning in for an imagined kiss in a darkened cinema. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score skews more ethereal than their usual fare (a notable shift from Challengers), while anachronistic music cues—from Nirvana to Prince’s Musicology—add unexpected layers. Meanwhile, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s cinematography drenches pivotal moments in a warm, golden glow, creating an almost dreamlike contrast to the film’s grittier textures.
QUEER exists in that space of being a strong adaptation yet an arguably uneven film. Guadagnino and Kuritzkes faithfully channel some of the chaotic, road-trip spirit of Burroughs while meticulously crafting the period setting. Yet, by the time we arrive at an ouroboros and an aged Lee, isolated in a room, there’s a creeping sense of familiarity, as though we’ve traveled this road before.
2024 | Italy, USA | DIRECTOR: Luca Guadagnino | WRITERS: Justin Kuritzkes (Based on the novella by William S. Burroughs) | CAST: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Henrique Zaga, Lesley Manville | DISTRIBUTOR: Lucky Red (Italy), Madman Films (Australia), A24 (USA) | RUNNING TIME: 137 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 27 November 2024 (USA), 19 January 2025 (Australia – Westpac OpenAir), 6 February 2025 (Australia – Wide)
