There’s nothing pleasant about writing a negative review for a movie that clearly deserves good reviews. We all remember the beautiful “Call Me by Your Name” directed by Luca Guadagnino – an amazing experience and in my opinion the best love story ever One of the stories. Maybe with that in mind, my expectations were higher than they should have been. Unfortunately, what I saw in Queer was something entirely different that I can barely describe and probably never will.
“Queer,” adapted by Justin Kuritzkes from the novel by William S. Burroughs, tells the story of Lee (Daniel Craig), who He spent his days in postwar Mexico City walking from street to street, bar to bar, almost drunk. He meets a young man named Allerton (Drew Starkey) and develops a crush on him. While Lee’s pursuit of Allerton intensifies and eventually leads to something, their journey together seems destined to reach an uncertain ending – one that may or may not work out for both of them.
The biggest problem with this movie is the poorly written script. Even though the source material is a semi-autobiographical novel, I didn’t think it needed to be adapted in the first place. The story feels very bland and has little substance. Despite the best efforts of two excellent actors, Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, to bring depth to what is missing from the script, it’s just not enough. The crude sexual content feels unnecessary and, frankly, annoying.
I knew this could be the role of a lifetime for Daniel Craig, potentially earning him some belated recognition. I sincerely hope he achieves that – but not through this character, and not in this movie. I don’t have a problem with stories being told through sex scenes, but here, all I saw was two adults having a passionate affair that ended up going nowhere in terms of character development. None of the graphic scenes serve any real purpose. Maybe Luca Guadagnino should consult Halina Rain, who worked brilliantly with Nicole Kidman in Baby Girl.
That being said, Queer is the most disappointing movie of the year, with nothing but dark visuals, a terrible script, and two great talents that were ultimately wasted. It’s a missed opportunity on every level, a film that doesn’t feel like it quite knows what it wants to be or what story it wants to tell. For a director known for his emotional depth and nuanced storytelling, the film falls flat, leaving us with only a shallow exploration of desire and emptiness. Ultimately, “Queer” is a forgettable failure, failing to resonate or leave a lasting impact.
