Queer (2024) Dir: Luca Guadagino
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Luca Guadagino has become a queer cinema icon in the last few years, with his queer-coded films like 'Call Me By Your Name' and 'Challengers' proving to be popular with both critics and audiences alike. This latest effort seems to have gone far more under the radar, by comparison, but I was still quite curious as to what it would be like.
As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the soundtrack, which was done by Trent Reznor, who also worked with Guadagino on the aforementioned 'Challengers' to great success, I'm not entirely convinced that it was the right fit for the film. If anything, it was a little jarring. The music didn't seem to mesh with the story, at least for me.
I liked the majority of the cinematography, but was left with mixed emotions towards some minor aspects. There is a small amount of CGI in the film, which looked fine, but noticeably artificial; a slight distraction. Some of the more intimate shots were incredibly beautiful, though I found myself a little underwhelmed by some of the trippier shots in the film.
I had two key issues, in regards to the film's writing. First and foremost; it felt a good thirty minutes too long. One can argue that this is a pacing issue as much as anything else, and I wouldn't be obliged to disagree on the matter. Storywise, and pacing-wise, I thought that parts one and two were exemplary.
However, part three, as well as the epilogue, lost me. The story fell apart, and sunk into a state of weirdness that overpowered and oversaturated the rest of the film. It lacked cohesion and left the narrative unfulfilled and unsatisfying. I don't mind an anticlimactic ending, or even a weird ending, on occasion, and when done well, but this did not hit the tight chords for me.
Daniel Craig was quite excellent, and the biggest strength of this film. Not only was he magnificently committed to his character's little mannerisms, he had a subtly wonderful way with words. It also felt so incredibly clear to me that he was having so much fun with the role. He breathed life into his character, and into each scene he was in.
Drew Starkey, by contrast, and by design, was far more subdued in nature. I quite enjoyed the teasing, somewhat mysterious nature of his character - something that Starkey delivered very smoothly. I would have liked to see a little more of his character's personality, though that is a writing issue, not an acting one.
In regards to what was a fairly limited supporting cast, those worth mentioning were the likes of Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville, and Drew Droege, to varying degrees of note. Schwartzman was by far the most watchable of the three, and amused me greatly at times.
Overall, I was left intensely divided by this film. On the one hand, the first two parts were beautiful, evocative, and emotionally intense. But those last two parts left me feeling very disappointed - it was awkward and disjointed, which took away from what had, to that point, been a very enjoyable viewing experience.
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