150 Word Review: 'Queer' (2024)
Beat around the bush
I support Daniel Craig's post-James Bond choices. So I was rooting for him in Luca Guadagnino's Queer, a disappointing follow-up to the director's erotic tennis drama Challengers.
Queer is an adaptation of Beatnik literary hero William S Burroughs’ novella of the same name, which he first wrote in 1952. Burroughs was a debauched intellectual. Craig is too handsome, too jacked to play a cynical gay junky desperate for love in Mexico City.
The anachronistic needle drops add much-needed dramatic atmosphere, but they hint at one of Queer's flaws: there isn't an authentic sense of time or place. No texture, no details, just vibes. Drew Starkey plays Eugene, Lee's young lover. Is Starkey a good actor? It's hard to tell—his character is a sketch at best. It doesn't help that he and Craig have zero sexual chemistry. The last act is hallucinatory. Fascinating/beautiful/nightmarish. But too little, too late.
New 150 Word Review: ‘Red Rooms’ (2024)
‘Tis the season to support local bookstores!
My critically-acclaimed funny/sad memoir Theatre Kids is the perfect holiday gift for recovering thespians with bad attitudes.
New 150 Word Review: ‘Juror #2’ (2024)
Hmmmm. These were my suspicions after seeing the trailer. Might still watch it this week. I loved Challengers.