Set in 1950s Mexico City, it follows Lee who, after fleeing from a drug bust in New Orleans, wanders around the city's clubs and becomes infatuated with drug user Allerton, a discharged American Navy serviceman.[6]
Guadagnino wanted to make an adaptation of William S. Burroughs' 1985 novel Queer since he read the book when he was 17. In April 2022, he mentioned the book to screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes while they were on set for their film Challengers (2024) in Boston.[8] Guadagnino bought Kuritzkes a copy, which he read and loved. Producer Lorenzo Mieli found the rights to the book, which they secured after a call with James Grauerholz, the literary executor of Burroughs' estate. Kuritzkes began writing the script while they were still working on Challengers.[8] The book was published unfinished, so Kuritzkes and Guadagnino consulted Burroughs' scholar Oliver Harris, on how to give the text a fitting ending, while maintaining the author's vision.[9] Guadagnino described Queer as his most personal film and a tribute to the films of Powell and Pressburger, concretely The Red Shoes (1948), "I think they would appreciate the sex scenes in Queer, which are numerous and quite scandalous".[10]
Casting
It was announced in December 2022 that Daniel Craig was in talks to star in the film.[11] Craig was cast after Guadagnino's agent Bryan Lourd had sent the script to the actor. Guadagnino recalled: "Daniel and I were on the phone a week later. Then, a week passed, and he was in the movie".[9] In April 2023, Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, and Henry Zaga were revealed to be in the cast.[6] Starkey was cast after an audition tape he had made for another project landed in front of Guadagnino. Guadagnino consulted with Craig on casting Starkey, and Craig, after watching the tape, told Guadagnino "That's the guy".[12] They auditioned 300 people for the role.[9] In June 2024 it was reported directors Ariel Schulman, Lisandro Alonso and David Lowery would be appearing on the film.[10]
The original cut submitted to and accepted by the Venice Film Festival was 185 to 200 minutes long before being cut down to its final length of 135 minutes.[17][18]
Music
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score for Queer, their third collaboration with Guadagnino following Bones and All in 2022 and Challengers in 2024. The Spanish-language "Te Maldigo", performed by Omar Apollo, who stars in the film, was the first song released from the soundtrack.[19]
In February 2024, Variety reported that the film was expected to hit the festival circuit in late 2024.[20][21] This was confirmed in July 2024, when it was announced that Queer would have its world premiere in-competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.[22] In August 2024, the film was the first announced in the Spotlight Gala of the 62nd New York Film Festival.[23] That same month, A24 acquired the film's distribution rights for the United States.[24] In October 2024, Mubi acquired the film rights for multiple regions, including streaming in Italy,[25] but the film was banned in Turkey, leading Mubi to cancel a film festival which the film was set to open.[26][27] It is scheduled for a limited release in the United States on November 27, 2024,[28] before a nationwide release on December 13.
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 89 critics gave the film a positive review and the average rating was 7.1 out of 10. The critics' consensus on the website reads: "A phantasmagorical distillation of William S. Burroughs' preoccupations that's by turns meandering and vital, Queer marks one of Daniel Craig's most sterling performances yet."[29]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 34 critics' reviews, indicating a "generally favorable" response.[30]
Craig was widely praised for his performance,[31][32][33][34] with The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw describing it as a "really funny, open, generous performance – perhaps the only disadvantage is that he upstages Starkey".[35]
The Times found the film to be visually appealing but lacking in substance.[36]
^Armocida, Pedro (28 August 2024). "Alberto Barbera: «La mia Venezia è diversa»" [Alberto Barbera: 'My Venice is different']. Box Office (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
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