46/49
Literature Beau travail (1999)
Line of Events
Lee, who tells the story of his life in Mexico among American expatriate college students and bar owners, surviving on part-time jobs and GI Bill benefits. He is forced to pursue a young man named Allerton, who is based on Adelbert Lewis Marker. IMDb editor Arno Kazarian suggests a quick take on 12 films screening at the 2024 New York Film Festival, including Anora and the dangerous, strangely erotic Misericordia. .. Luca Guadagnino stated in an interview that Queer is a project he has wanted to make since he was 20. QUEER has strong echoes of the same director’s CALL ME BYOUR NAME.
He is played brilliantly by Daniel Craig
The protagonist of both films is unambiguously gay, and the object of his desire is harder to trace. As in the previous film, we are not in America, but we are among Americans. But while the main character in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME was a sexually throbbing teenager, here our focus is on a middle-aged writer addicted to drugs and alcohol. The first part of QUEER is about will they?/won’t they-they, as Craig’s character William Lee yearns/desires fresh-faced ex-soldier Eugene Allerton, played brilliantly by Drew Starkey. With excellent performances by Jason Schwartzman and Drew Droege playing other denizens of the local coffee shops and bars, the film keeps a steady pace. The writing (Justin Kuritzkes, based on the book by William S.
Burrough) and direction are as assured as you’d expect
But in the final third, the film kicks into another gear when Lee and Allerton go on a field trip to find a plant that Lee realizes can unleash a person’s ability to telepathically. This unlikely adventure eventually culminates in an encounter with a certain Dr. Cotter, whom they find deep in the jungle conducting research. Dr. Cotter is played in a stunning performance by the brilliant Lesley Manville, unrecognizable at first, such is her transformation. It’s fascinating that even a great actor like Daniel Craig is unfortunately somewhat diminished by a great actor like Manville for having the upper hand.
She’s simply amazing
She does nothing but her job. Give that woman an Oscar, please. QUEER is very carefully crafted, has many wonderful sequences, and, as Guardagnino himself has said, is interestingly indebted to the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It’s a film about the deep desire to connect with another human being, even to the point of fusion. In that sense, again, like Powell and Pressburger at their best, it’s very romantic. Some may find that too much.
It’s worth seeing
In my opinion, the difference between, say, BLACK DARCISSISTS or A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, and this movie is that I walked out just after watching QUEER, instead of being blown away by it because I was called MY NAME. I admit, there are lesser movies. Go see QUEER, though. Check out our list of exciting new films from this year’s film festivals, including Venice, TIFF, New York Film Festival, and more.