30/11
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, since William S Burroughs provided the source material for both films in the 1950s. México, William Lee, an American writer from the wrong side of the… forties? fifties? He spends his days getting drunk, shooting himself and 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 made me think the intention was to pay homage to the films of the era in which the film is set. But if that’s the case, why is the non-1950s rock and techno soundtrack of Daniel Craig (is it my imagination or is he starting to sound like Sid James?) held back in the lead role by having to constantly recite nonsense? with an accent that’s clearly not his. Drew Starkey could give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene, and he certainly looks classy. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle – bravo to the makeup team who seem to me more about the art style than the storytelling content! It was okay to see once, but I won’t be watching it again.
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