47/14
Mentioned in Close-Up: Why do we need the Venice Film Festival?
Story
Lee, who recounts his life in Mexico City among American expat students and bar owners who survive on part-time jobs and GI Bill benefits. He is driven to search for a young man named Allerton, who is based on Adelbert Lewis Marker. IMDb editor Arno Kazarian offers sneak peeks of the 12 films he screened at the 2024 New York Film Festival, including Anora and the dangerous, oddly erotic Misericordia .. It was Daniel Craig who eventually convinced Luca Guadagnino to hire Drew Starkey after was watching tapes of the audition with Guadagnino and told him "That’s the guy" after seeing Starkey’s..
In the 1950s' México, William Lee, American writer on the wrong side of
(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, as William S Burroughs provided the source material for both films. the forties? Fifty?
But what does Eugene himself want?
He spends his days getting drunk, shooting and casually having sex with other men. One day, a muscular, smart young dude, Eugene, walks into a bar and Lee is smitten. 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.
But if that’s the case, why a decidedly non-1950s rock and techno soundtrack?
The sets are done almost exclusively in block colors – 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. Daniel Craig (is it my imagination or is he starting to look like Sid James?) is hampered in the lead role as he constantly has to recite gibberish in an accent that clearly isn’t his. Drew Starkey can give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene, and he certainly looks stylish. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in a South American jungle – well done to the makeup team!
It was okay to see once, but I won’t watch it again
This is the kind of movie that feels more about art style than storytelling content to me.