Skip to main content

Queer | Review by: Amanda Guarragi

 The concept of loneliness has been explored in many ways. People may experience loneliness while in a relationship or by feeling isolated from the rest of the world. Whether the isolation is by choice to heal or to keep themselves safe, the underlying pain will unravel. 


At times, the loss of self in a relationship accompanies the desperation of wanting the other person to see you how you want to be seen and, more importantly, how you want to be loved. People sometimes accept the treatment they think they deserve because the need for unconditional love overpowers logic. 


In Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, he explores the excitement of a new relationship through lustful, intimate moments between William Lee (Daniel Craig) and Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). The film is set in the early fifties in Mexico City. It is adapted from the novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs. Guadagnino has Lee venturing through the bar scene attempting to find a partner tactfully because of how secretive the love affair would be. 


Craig’s performance as Lee is one of his best. He is exuberant and sensual but also awkward in certain moments. Once Lee meets Eugene, his world is turned upside down, and the conventional queerness that Lee has lived by has changed with the younger generation. Lee craves Eugene, and the anticipation of the two uniting as one is beautifully executed. 


Guadagnino uses motion through Lee’s ghost self when wanting to cross the line with Eugene, almost like lost moments of the chances not taken by Lee. Eugene didn’t treat Lee like the other men he had been with. Eugene was nonchalant with their exchanges, which would drive Lee mad. Guadagnino drew them together for small moments only to rip them apart as individuals experiencing two sides of the same coin. Love and lust go hand in hand, but if someone is experiencing both and the other is not, it’s a devastating journey. 


It’s one of Guadagnino’s more intimate portraits of relationships where individuality gets lost in the persona of who they long to be. During the on-again-off-again nature of Lee and Eugene’s relationship, Lee suffers from substance abuse and has an altered perception of his reality. He understands his place in Eugene’s life and would want the comfort of his presence with him without actually being tied to him. 


Once we get to the third act, Guadagnino leans into the obscure surrealist aspects to create a chilling exchange of possession and succumbing to those feelings. The immense power of wanting someone and not being able to have them, the overwhelming sickness that overtakes you knowing you’ll never be with them, and the self-deprecation of being enough. Queer is not the strongest Guadagnino picture, but it is the most ambitious and poignant of his work. 


4/5 


Review by: Amanda Guarragi 


#movies #films #moviereviews #filmreviews #1stReviews #LucaGuadagnino #DrewStarkey #DanielCraig #WilliamBurroughs #TIFF24 Queer

Popular posts from this blog

Boss Level Film Review

       Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation.  Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...

Godzilla vs. Kong Film Review

         Godzilla versus Kong is the action movie we have been longing for since all major blockbuster films pushed back their release dates. After three solo films between Kong and Godzilla, we finally see the two titans clash on film for the first time in what is the culmination of the Universal Monsterverse. The story is split nicely in two as team Kong and team Godzilla each have their own mission. Team Kong is on a secret mission to the center of the earth to uncover the mystery of the titans. This team consists of Dr. Nathan, Dr. Ilene, Maia, and the Youngest character in the film, Jia. Team Godzilla consists of Madison, Josh, and Bernie who are also on a secret mission, to infiltrate Apex Cybernetics with the theory that they are up to no good and are the reason why Godzilla has been acting up recently. The dynamics of the teams are well balanced as the Kong story provides us with serious and more action-heavy bits in contrast to the Apex team story that ...

Inside Out 2 | Review by: Stefano Bove

  Nine years ago, Pixar introduced us to Riley, a young girl who is trying to grow with change happening with herself and her family. Her emotions; joy, anger, sadness, fear and disgust help her through these difficult times.   Now two years, Riley is 13 and is going through new life changes physically and emotionally as she tries to grip with the reality that the rest of her life relies on how the next weekend goes. All of these changes spark new emotions to grow inside of her.  It is a tough time for Riley that she must overcome. It is a snapshot in time that is probably a big emotional trigger for audiences as well as we go on this journey with Riley. Taking the incredibly intricate memory world that was established in the first film, the sequel makes a few minor additions that allow it to feel familiar but still fresh enough to keep us engaged. Many of these new additions are some of the funniest moments in the entire series.  With more emotions and human charact...