23/14
In 1950s Mexico, a forty-year-old American immigrant lives a lonely life in a small American community. However, the arrival of a young student leads the man to finally form a meaningful connection with someone. Daniel Craig finally convinced Luca Guadagnino to play Drew Starkey after watching audition tapes with Guadagnino and saying “That’s the guy” when he saw Starkey… William Lee: Get on your ass! Or what’s left of it after four years in the navy.. Presented by The Graham Norton Show: Daniel Craig / Nicola Coughlan / Jesse Eisenberg / Kieran Culkin / Flo (2024). I’ve never seen “Southern Naked”. (1991), but I often think about it in 2024. A screening of Queer at the London Film Festival: perhaps to be expected, as William S Burroughs provided the source material for both films in 1950. In Mexico, William Lee, an American writer in his… forties? Fifties? He spends his days getting drunk, shooting himself, and having casual sex with other men. One day, a muscular, intelligent young man named Eugene walks into the bar and Lee is impressed. But what does Eugene himself want? There’s also the telepathic drug to think about… I’m not sure what director Luca Guadagnino is going for stylistically with this film. The sets are decorated almost entirely in block colours – dull red and olive green, for example – and have that vaguely unrealistic, clean Technicolor look that makes you think they’re paying homage to the films of the era in which the film is set. But if that’s the case, why the decidedly 1950s rock and techno soundtrack? Daniel Craig (is it my imagination, or is he starting to sound like Sid James?) is stuck in the lead role because he has to constantly give meaningless speeches. Definitely not in my accent. Drew Starkey manages to give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene and he certainly looks prepared. Lesley Manville is unrecognizable as the doctor living in the South American jungle – great job by the makeup team! This is the kind of movie that seems to me to be more about artistic style than narrative substance. It was good to see once, but I won’t forget it again.