Queer

“I’m not queer, I’m disembodied.” book to film adaptations are, in my experience, really hit or miss but this was nothing short of breathtaking. i could highlight absolutely everything about this movie but we’d be here all day if i did that, so uhm… this really captured the book’s raw essence. it was so visually poetic… from the focus on bodies to simple shots of street lights or cigarettes burning this was soooo gorgeous. the film frames bodies as vessels of yearning - the entanglement of limbs, the hesitation before kissing, the push and pull of desire. you can almost see their souls dancing together, never fully merging but coming close to it - at least to Lee. and the sex scenes, oh my god ??? it’s like sex is a prayer. it’s messy and human and aching. really, really just in love with the body shots on this one. also the use of lighting and colour in this was amazing - wow. it’s like a drug induced fever dream, the mundane becomes holy when dressed in blues or reds or oranges. it’s like a love letter to longing. need whoever did the cinematography at my wedding (as my groom) the scene in the jungle where Lee and Allerton are dancing and merging into one being, skin sinking into skin, was really beautiful. drug induced but beautiful. this and the scenes of the William Tell act (both in the background and between Lee and Allerton) work really well when it comes to including the reason behind the story. Burroughs shot and killed his wife when performing the William Tell act whilst inebriated, and he talks about that being a big part of why he become a writer & why he wrote Queer - but i do kind of wish the act was kept out. okay, last thing - the soundtrack was incredible. i am often not very fond of music in movies, but it works well here. really strengthens the story and it feels very, very intentional. adored it. i love that there’s no clean resolution, no real happy ending. i think - and this is true for both the film and the book - a happy, tidy resolution would’ve killed the core of the story. it’s not just about drug addiction, it’s about an addiction to a body. even when Lee grows old he’s still fantasizing about the boy he can’t have, the boy who is gone. Lee exists in this almost 3rd state where he’s disembodied but still connected enough to turn himself inside out, just to not be loved back the way he wants (or needs) to be.  this adaptation does more than just retell Queer, it understands it. it digs into it and tears open the flesh of it. among my favourite adaptations.