Welcome to How Gay Is It?Out's review series where, using our state-of-the-art Eggplant Rating System, we determine just how queer some of pop culture's buzziest films and TV shows are! (Editor's note: this post contains spoilers for A24's Queer.)
Once again, filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has proven he's the master of queer cinema with the fittingly titled romantic drama Queer.
Queer, adapted from William S. Burroughs' trippy book, takes place in 1950 Mexico City where William Lee (Daniel Craig) an aging expat reliant on booze, drugs and sex with young men to get him through his days is living out the twilight of his life.
That's when a new face appears in one of Lee's main bars. Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) is a devastatingly handsome young former soldier who just arrived in town and catches Lee's attention immediately. After a few false starts, the two men soon become closer than they ever thought they'd be.
Despite finding a new relationship, Lee is still searching, and that leads him to South America and a new drug called Ayahuasca, with Allerton in tow.
In South America, they meet a mysterious doctor who's been working with the drug, and she leads them on a trip that opens their minds, hearts and souls.
It's a beautiful study on desire, loneliness, love, and aging, and it gives Craig a chance to show off the best performance of his career by giving him space to swim in all of those emotions.
Starkey is sexy and demure as the perfect target and foil for Craig's over-the-top and controlling older man. Lesley Manville is once again a master of her craft as a doctor living deep in the jungle.
Queer is a uniquely Guadagnino-ian film. It isn't as easy and fun a ride as his other movie this year, Challengers, was, and it definitely is much stranger than that movie. It ends with an extended ayahuasca trip and never lets up on the weirdness even when that ends.
Because of that and a more dream-like atmosphere throughout, the film might not be everyone's cup of tea. Even queer audiences might struggle with some of the artistic choices.
None of the choices are bad, per se, but they are strange, and they are choices that only Guadagnino would make.
Queer is a unique film, a brilliant film, and a deeply and profoundly odd film, and it won't be a film everyone loves.
Of course, Out has to ask how gay it is, and thankfully, the film called Queer is deeply and sensually queer! Craig is full of sexy gay desperation in the role, and when he does have sex, it's hotter than a sweat lodge and just as wet!
There is so much gay sex, gay kissing, gay pining, and gay loving in this film that I wish I could give it six eggplants. Three stars and five eggplants.
Queer is in theaters November 27.
