The lengths of wanting acceptance so much it will drive you to the end of the world, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer is a sticky mythical inferno of inner demons and the pining to be loved. 

Wandering the streets of an artificial 1950s Mexico City, the lonely-suited Lee is set on finding his next pleasure for a one-night stand. Endless glasses of tequila with other expats and shooting up heroin dictate Lee’s never-ending cycle of self-destruction.  As he takes up space in clubs and bars gazing from a distance at the male bodies around him in hopes of sparking up a conversation that will give him the temporary fix he is so desperate for. Anyone from anywhere, he is open to that one meet, cute of two eyes locking and with immediate attraction to give him a rush of safety. Looking for attention in all the wrong places no matter if the person reciprocates or not.

Thought to be escaping the confines of America, he is trapped in a chamber of his queerness alone and discreet, as orientation is translated through touch rather than speech. Hoping the right look and pat will signal to the opposite person one’s true identity, except when it’s a reality that people cower by the very being of themselves. 

Living with no real purpose except to indulge suddenly lives when Eugene Allerton strolls into Lee’s life set to “Come As You Are” as the whole world slows down to capture desire at first sight. Lee becomes over-consumed with the idea of Eugene quickly latching on to the romance he has always craved. A crisp clean-cut boy about to be devoured by the ghostly posion of this older wanderer.  Lee is stirred by the quiet demeanor of how Eugene presents himself, something he can’t quite grasp that also pulls him like the planets revolving around the sun. Allerton is a romantic endeavor but also an opportunity to alleviate the isolation of Lee to finally have a companion. 

Unsure of Allerton’s orientation Lee throws glances and clunky moves to try to resonate with the queerness inside the young man. Even goes as far as using tactics of manipulation to bend the relationship how he sees into edging their sexual, emotional, and spiritual relationship free of Allerton’s interjections otherwise. The constant guessing of whether Eugene is one of them leaves Lee even more insecure than he already is. Eugene rarely gives anything back to Lee operating under the radar never giving too much of himself over. As they spend more and more time together one with Lee under the guise they are morphing into one being while Eugene still keeps his distance entertaining Lee’s wishes but at a limit. Allerton seems to wallow in Lee in one-off circumstances that feel more like experimentation than a statement of who he is. 

Lee works to infiltrate himself into Eugene’s life hoping for him to feel the same spark but each attempt is painfully executed with straight-up rejection from the young man. Eugene holding onto his independence senses Lee’s advances brushing them off with hard pushes and emotionless stares. Lee trying to domesticate him after a romantic entanglement sees that first crack into this not being what he thought it was going to be. In the rooms, the two men occupy, Lee has a watchful eye on Allerton’s every breath and move while Allerton isn’t afraid to leave his conversations with Lee in favor of some of his real friends in the community. 

Drew Starkey takes a major turn from his teen soap opera persona of the outlandish Rafe Cameron to the stoic Allerton. A man so mysterious you can’t help but lean in like Lee and become a mess yourself at his toned physique and unassuming boyish qualities. As Lee rubs his hands down his ribs the urge to just press harder to crack him into two due to how much sensuality is on fire at that moment. Luca perfectly builds this frustrating dynamic of a relationship caught at the wrong moments.  Allerton is the grounded reality in the chaos of Lee’s growing delusions that begin to interfere with reality through the film’s more surrealist takes on his dreams. The hunger to be touched and loved haunts him in his dreams that he will never be someone who will achieve this due to his chosen nature.  Lee’s drug and love impulses;ses meld into one intensifying the feeling of wanting love so bad it will cause one to plummet their health intentionally.  Seeking out a deeper connection to Allerton, the two travel down to South America for a drug that can unlock telepathically.

Stefano Baisi’s first outing as a production designer proves as a work of art blending the historical with fictional to craft the streets Lee inhabits. The traditional 1950s architecture inspired by the many wanderers that have influenced its makeup is offset by the anachronistic musical notes transporting it into a further late-night odyssey.  A ghostly resurrection of a lost time with bodies floating the bar scenes rumblings of music and conversation heard pouring out of every venue. Set out of its time incorporating the censorship of its time electrifying a universal tale for the ages. A playground of symmetry provides surfaces to reflect the internal emotions of the characters in every inch. Baisi is in sync with Guadagnino in understanding his central character and how it impacts his environment in a dreadful purgatory. Not quite reality and not fully dream-like as Lee centers himself in between the realms.  Bold color palettes of moody blues line his world as an unknown world submerged in the sweat on Lee’s forehead. Aquatic in nature like an underwater world where the rules of real life don’t apply but it’s not as safe to be yourself. Stenches of sex lit by the neon lights build out the city marking it as the perfect hideaway for a group of American outcasts. 

The incredible collaboration between Guadagnino and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is one big sweaty memory expressing the urge to touch someone from some beautiful overlays of Lee’s hands pushing back Allerton’s hair or telling his true feelings.  More ache to the soul putting the viewer exactly in the place of Lee. The thing you most certainly want is right at your fingertips as Lee pictures himself giving in but knows better than he can ever have it.  The translucent imagery signals Lee’s own separation from his soul and body making it impossible for him to find that connection with another person. Love is painted horrifically in the Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score that emulates dread for confronting these forbidden feelings. A sense of emergency feels on the horizon through the needle drops as Lee inches more to Eugene.  It’s all-consuming as love can be when it takes over the body inescapable.

Daniel Craig, the ultimate symbol of macho masculinity from years as James Bond lets it all go for an honest portrayal of a messy man who you can’t help but cringe at his attempts to win over partners. The years of damage from drinks and drugs are worn on his charmless face slowly sinking him into an eternity of sickness. Vulnerability leads him through a hopeless romantic lifestyle that time and time again gets crushed by not picking up on his partner’s true intentions. Leaving him in a state that possession of another’s body will be the thing to cure him only achieved by a magical drug that mixes bodies. One shot of Craig shooting up heroin alone with only his chest seen until he is picked up by the drug allowing his whole face to be shown is a beautiful metaphor for who Lee is. Alive by the things that will eventually kill him as he allows it to wallow in his system and take over. 

Feeling his acid reflex of overdrinking and humid skin, Craig crafts an overstimulating performance that is so subtle as he tries to hold the true part of himself back. Seeming unbothered by his life choices that slowly eat away at him his entire facade melts the second Eugene enters his life putting on a shoe of patheticism and secondhand embarrassment one could relate to for the sake of love. Lee obviously will not stop at any lengths in his attempt to win over Eugene, he will figure out how to form this man to him even if it means a drug trip that ends up with their bodies becoming one. The constant pullback from Eugene only ignites his fiery love even more and nothing will stop him from making another human love him back. Constantly pushing at someone who doesn’t want to give you the time of day as Eugene realizes how the situation looks to the outsider Lee doesn’t want to admit it.  Lee longs for something more in life free from himself and sensing a meaningful connection. He views himself as an outsider peeking into all the relationships around him wishing to be for once on the inside and wanted by someone else. 

Queer is exactly everything Luca Guadagnino excels at as a director. His unparalleled ability to tap into intimacy for the cinema reaches new heights in the journey of queer love. A soulful ache in the heart when love is not synchronized between two individuals and how the queer experience to be in love can be out of body. Using the surrealist elements Guadagnino mastered the unadaptable words of William S. Burroughs in a submerged blue world drenched in complete sadness. Posing queerness as a surrealist experience one cannot explain how it leaves them disembodied with their being is Luca’s mastery as a director from his viability to balance romanticism with desperation. A centipede crawling across the skin represents Lee standing in as writer William S. Burroughs to how he views himself in this world. His alienation leaves him in a place of no return not able to fully engage with someone when Allerton comes into his life it’s seen as a lifeline but in the end, he will never understand how to heal himself.

Dehumanized for queerness in a hallucinogenic hunt to finally be confronted with the truth, Guadagnino creates one of the most beautiful modern love stories replicating the feeling of phantom pain that will leave anyone completely shattered.

Grade: A

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Lead Actor (Daniel Craig)
Should be Considered: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design

Where to Watch: In Select Theaters