Queer

Got to see Queer again and really held the space for it. Since I’m in queer media AMC gave me a totally private screening for me to watch in solitude. All jokes aside I really fucking loved this on a rewatch. I really felt Luca’s vision even more on a rewatch. Queer is about a man who denies himself. His innermost being, but spends his life searching for that very thing he denies himself. It’s a desperately sad movie. The entire time Lee wants to speak without speaking with Allerton. His desperation for that connection leads him deep into the jungles of South America. Daniel Craig gives such a powerhouse performance here. He really transforms himself into the character. There is a part of me that wishes Luca would pick gay actors to play these gay roles but Luca being a raging queer absolutely gives this story and the character that authenticity it needs to succeed. In that same note Drew Starkey is outstanding as the distant object of Lee’s affection. The craft on display here is crazy good. There is no yellow tinted Mexico City here. Just a gorgeously photographed film that uses expert use of miniatures. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross give us another one of the best scores of the year. One that is completely different than Challengers but is still as central to the film’s core as Challengers was. It’s really beautiful and I’ve been listening to it a lot since I watched the film. Queer is a deeply personal film, based heavily off the real life of William S Burrows. It’s not an easy straightforward film like Call Me By Your Name or Challengers. It is a movie totally consumed by desire. It is absolutely one of my favorite movies of the year. It just really speaks to me. Luca Guadagnino is without a doubt one of my favorite filmmakers working in the modern space. He is such an artist. I’m going to be very sad to go a couple years without another Luca film. We were so spoiled to get 2 this year but I know his next film will be incredible. Especially if it’s his adaptation of American Psycho.