Luca Guadignino’s adaptation of Queer, a 1985 William S. Burrough novella, is a dreamy, drug-induced, sex-filled, fever dream. Queer stars Daniel Craig as William Lee. A heroin junkie living in Mexico who spends his days getting high and his nights sleeping with younger men.

There’s an essential air of A24 sheen that Luca brings to his newest film. The still-framed title sequences that plays over Sinead O’Conner’s cover of All Apologies let the audience know right away this film is going to be brimming with style. Queer doesn’t always deliver on its big promises, but it serves as a fantastic vehicle for Daniel Craig to show off his acting chops.

Music

This is Luca Guadagnino’s third collaboration with super duo Trent Reznor and Attic Ross after the disturbing Bones and All and this year’s fantastic Challengers. The score never reaches the high stakes fast tempo greatness of Challengers, but Queer is filled with licensed music from the 90s that elevates the entire experience.

All Apologies is just one of three Nirvana songs that make an appearance during pivotal moments in the film. I’m not sure how much of the soundtrack was planned by the Nine Inch Nails team or Luca himself, but it’s an inspired choice filling this 1950s set period piece with music from the 90s and early 2000s. It’s a tremendous addition that adds to the entire dream-like tone of the film.

William S. Burroughs

Queer is the second piece of literature published by Burroughs following Junkie and before his breakout Naked Lunch. With Queer being semi-autobiographical, there’s an air to the book that Burroughs is a bit of an unreliable narrator. He spends most of the book, and film, high on junk and thinking he’s gods gift to queer men. It’s only when he meets a young Navy man that this inflated self-view starts to burst.

Most of the film is plays like a straight erotic thriller but there are a few David Lynch-style sojourns that delve into the main character Psyche. Lee is clearly a troubled man who struggles with demons. Guadagnino shoots these scenes subtly, focusing a long steady shot on Lee preparing and shooting his heroin. There are no flashy fast cuts like Requiem for a Dream, just a fly-on-the-wall perspective of a man and his addiction. He also uses an interesting ghosting effect when shooting Lee and his interactions with those around him as if to convey Lee’s separation from reality. He wants to reach out and grasp all that is around him. But often just a bit too far to be held.

Eroticism

Queer is filled with beautiful imagery meant to bring you into Lee’s life of excess. Even with the gorgeous sets and costume design, the film is less flashy than his earlier release of Challengers. Queer plays a bit in the middle of Bones and Challengers. Where Bones and All is filled with grime and Challengers brimming with pizazz, Queer falls somewhere in the middle.

Even the intimate scenes are shot with a sort of blaise attitude. The same sort of discontent that Lee clearly feels for his multiple conquests. These scenes are explicit but never venture into exploitation. It all feels real, if not a bit dangerous. A testament to Guadagnino’s filmmaking and his ability to capture emotion with each scene. We see Lee making love to various men in the film, but it never satisfies him or the ultimate question the film poses.

Are You Queer?

The story of Queer is problematically light. There is little conflict propelling the film forward and the film is much more concerned with vibes and aesthetics than a compelling narrative. If there’s one anchor plot beat it’s Lee’s search for queer men in a notoriously bad time to be queer. The film culminates in a search for ayahuasca not so Lee can’t get high, but so he can master telepathy. The beat is clear. Lee wants to know if his lover is truly queer or if he is simply indulging the older wealthier gentleman. And a dangerous drug-induced trip is easier than asking directly.

It’s an interesting beat and one that works well in today’s society. It just takes the film a while to get there. We spend the first act merely following Lee as he has sex and walks around Mexico City to classic Prince tracks. It’s visually interesting, sounds great, but means very little. Once Lee meets the handsome young American who steals his lust, the plot starts in earnest. But we still spend most of the film following Lee as he quietly ponders the sexuality of his new partner.

Motifs

Inside all of this gorgeous imagery are countless themes and motifs. Bugs are featured prominently as are weapons and various paraphernalia related to Lee’s vices. It’s uncommon to see Craig on screen without an alcoholic drink in his hand or a cigarette in his mouth. He spends his days filling the void in his life with sex, drugs, and booze.

It’s when the movie enters the surreal that some of the motifs become hard to parse. William S. Burroughs struggled with addiction himself and that is often reflected in his writing. It’s hard to know though if his writing at a particular moment was a stroke of brilliant allegory or the delusions of an addict. A beautiful recreation of a tearful snake eating his own tail is haunting and speaks volumes. But it’s surrounded by surreal hard to parse images and ideas. Everything filling these surrealist scenes surely has a purpose, but it’s not clear if that purpose is profound or drug-induced mania.

I’m Disembodied

Once Lee reaches a certain level of consciousness, it appears as though the films central question is finally answered. Rather than the question being one of sexuality, it’s more of one’s place in the world. Lee, along with his lovers and various side characters, are just disembodied creatures. Floating through life with no real sense of drive or purpose. They fill their lives with sex and drugs. Writing profound words but living meaningless lives.

Queer as a film, isn’t perfect. The themes are sometimes lost in the imagery and the plot is barely noticeable amidst the grand ideas it presents. However, the true standout is Craig’s portrayal of Lee. Daniel Craig holds the audience’s attention and dives deep into this troubled character. While I didn’t love the entirety of Queer, I still found it to be an incredible piece of art and certainly worth watching. If only to see Daniel Craig acting leagues around his peers.