QUEER Movie Review **SPOILER ALERT**

Gay homosexuals Nick and Joseph spoil Queer - a 2024 period romantic drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes, based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs.
Premise: 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.
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Cast:
Daniel Craig as William Lee
Drew Starkey as Eugene Allerton
Lesley Manville as Dr. Cotter
Jason Schwartzman as Joe Guidry
Henry Zaga as Winston Moor
Omar Apollo as Chimu Bar Guy
Drew Droege as John Dumé
Ariel Schulman as Tom Weston
David Lowery as Jim Cochan
Colin Bates as Tom Williams
Ronia Ava as Joan
Simon Rizzoni as Bartender
Michaël Borremans as Doctor
Andra Ursuța as Mary
Lisandro Alonso as Mr. Cotter
Cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Edited by Marco Costa
Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Keywords: ending explained, reaction video, trailer, A24, Venice Film Festival, Bones and All, Call Me By Your Name, Challengers, I Am Love, The Protagonists, A Bigger Splash, Suspiria

[@dallasmove537]

So, after seeing "Queer", I decided to look up some reviews to see if other people's minds were exploding like mine. I've not seen your videos before so I was NOT expecting the thoughtful, in-depth, and illuminating review provided. You affirmed, confirmed, and elucidated on many of my thoughts, questions, and theories. Very well done and much appreciated.

[@Stress-Free-K]

I felt Allerton really did love Lee. And offered as much tenderness and love a man of his age had to offer. The jungle sex where they were finally "disembodied", their sex highly spiritual and as if they were deeply emeshed with one another. Which shook Allerton to his core. That he could have such an intense level of intimacy with Lee, a much older man.

[@True-Believer616]

I wanna see this film in the theater to support it, but it's not showing anywhere in this red assed state I work in. I'm glad both you guys liked it.

[@LexisReadz]

Facing the same struggle 🫠

[@TechnicJunglist]

@True-Believer616 I'm going to have to travel to an indie cinema in a college town, about 45 mins away, to see it and I'm in Mass. I hope you find some success. 🤞

[@True-Believer616]

@@TechnicJunglist Thanks. Enjoy it.

[@Anutushara]

In Limited release. National release Dec. 13th. While trying to find where it will play near me in the future I’ve found no results. Guess wide release is still a limited release in this case.

[@StevenE-l9y]

Yeah oddly there's no showtimes for it near me either. It must be very limited. Strange because I saw previews for this movie countless times. Why spend all this money to advertise it in AMC theaters if you aren't going be showing it in many of them? But perhaps it's going limited to wide so we may get showtimes further down the line.

[@sebastianf6499]

The guy in the background is definitely having a great time😂

[@shannonn9575]

Can confirm that he is. In that moment anyway…

[@michaeladkins6]

I think thats Drew Starkey whom they dont mention in the review.

[@mjgerleman]

William S. Burroughs killed his wife by trying to shoot a glass off her head.

[@1UpJohn]

Is that in the movie? If not, it should be.

[@mjgerleman]

@@1UpJohn they mention something similar in what I think is a dream sequence

[@postmodernrecycler]

The Cronenberg film Naked Lunch has a scene of this.

[@Ryusevi]

@@1UpJohnit is. They mention it when lee shoots allerton in the head he has a glass on his head

[@fetishmagic2419]

Sis had tea why lie

[@bmck-8400]

Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving. This sounds like and interesting film. Have you ver reviewed A Single Man ?

[@fishjellyfilmreviews]

No…that would make a good podcast selection.

[@bmck-8400]

@@fishjellyfilmreviews The opening scene and the film as a whole has stayed with me since it came out. There is a terrific documentary called Chris & Don: A Love story that I also think is excellent and goes nicely with the film.

[@capsjukebox]

Queer and Junkie were books I read as a college freshman right after reading Naked Lunch. And they were both really affecting stories bc of the characterization. Glad they’ve seemed to have pulled that off in the movie.

[@YungNic]

"The Yage Letters" is a wild book as well... It goes into deeper discussion about him searching for that plant/drug in the jungle 😂 Dude was wild

[@Ryusevi]

Reading this book before seeing the movie and especially reading burroughs‘ introduction where he gave some context to his life at the time of writing gave me a greater appreciation for the film and how Luca realised it and i ended up really liking it a lot.

[@erikchristensen822]

It can't be that often Nick gives 4 stars to two movies by same director in same year.

[@jentalksbooks]

Up late & thrilled to see this pop up! 🎉

[@lllemm]

I love your reviews so much. Everything you both say just resonates so much. Thank you for continuing to do this! 💗

[@sisterseeth]

Somewhere, Terence McKenna and William S. Burroughs are talking about the "transcendental object at the end of human history which exists beyond language" together. And, we're stuck here.

[@jackfairy666]

In this video, somewhere around 22:20 the sound gets muffled (or blown out) for some reason. Just letting you know.

[@adamschofield6398]

Nick, love your Suddenly t-shirt. Really want to see this film as a Burroughs enthusiast.

[@danavixen6274]

STUNNING likeness of Elizabeth Taylor. ❤

[@tamarakarlas1]

Finishing up the book this week, can’t wait to see it !

[@RoseSab673]

Always here for the reviews❤ bought so much merch from your store that just got delivered i love them sm😭

[@fishjellyfilmreviews]

Yay! Thank you 🙌🏾

[@leightonolsson4846]

I'm just here for the Elizabeth Taylor from "suddenly, last summer" t-shirt ❤

[@VenjerSixx.]

Great review / very excited to see this huge Burroughs fan here

[@kellyrob4296]

What a wonderful description of this film; color me thoroughly intrigued. I tried to read the book years ago but wasn’t anywhere near a place where I could sit back & enjoy, as if it were a fulfilling meal. I’m going to be so engrossed, I really want to experience it alone! Thank you, my dears. 💉💔

[@christophercobb249]

As a gay man, I appreciate that you find the still photos of the hot shirtless men to display prominently when you are mentioning the films. Your review is as great as always, but I truly appreciate that. I clocked it, and I love it.

[@IsaiahTB0]

Finally seeing this Friday. Thank's for the review!

[@LMason-qd7sq]

11:54 It only made me think of this because I'm working on an essay, but I feel that's what the internet has become. An addictive "substance" that reveals who people really are... Naked Lunch has been on my "to watch" list for a long time

[@Ddofc]

William S Borroughs is one of my top ten favorite wizards

[@lightuponlight6727]

Cool review. Looking forward to seeing this one and ..."Babygirl" Can't wait to hear you thoughts on that one... Nicole Kidman is everywhere.

[@michaeladkins6]

I just saw an actors on actors that had Allerton from Queers with the young actor from Babygirl.

[@londonsmoker]

I saw this at the London Film Festival. Profound and preposterous in equal measure. I think I enjoyed it but will need to see it again to make sure.

[@rjcarter2904]

This is an excellent movie in so many ways. It is well written, the acting (especially Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey) is superb. The cinematography and score are phenomenal. It definitely represents the lives and the psychology of gay men at two very different stages of self-acceptance in the early '50s. So, why is it so divisive? Why do some love it and some hate it? I think it has to do with a few things. First, there are people who are homophobes and hate queer movies. Not sure why they went (LOL--yes, I am pretty sure, at least). Second, it has a lot of metaphors in it. People's brains tend to be dichotomous as to whether they are linear thinkers and like movies in which everything is spelled out for them OR they are less concrete and more associative thinkers and like the many interpretations of metaphors. Of course, it's really a continuum, but these are the extremes. People at the first extreme (more concrete thinkers) would hate this movie and not understand its true meaning. Those at the other extreme probably would love it. As you say, it's the story of a gay man in middle-age (former military) who lives in Mexico. He's a drug addict, which likely represents the misery he experiences as a gay man in the '50s. He says he's in Mexico because his drug habit would get him imprisoned in the U.S. Remember, though, this was the era of McCarthyism, and his homosexuality also may have gotten him imprisoned--as a "communist"). So, he lives in Mexico and is seeking a meaningful gay relationship. Unfortunately, all he finds is superficial hook-ups. He sees and becomes infatuated with Eugene, a younger man who is struggling with his queer identity and is unable to accept it. Yet, he is drawn to Lee, the older man. This sets the stage for what is to occur. The part that I think really confuses people and is off-putting for them is Chapter 3 with the telepathy augmenting drug in South America. This is the metaphor for the struggle that Eugene is going through, knowing that he is attracted to men, specifically Lee, and denying his own homosexuality. Lee "hears" the thoughts of Eugene during their drug intoxication, "I AM NOT QUEER!" Ultimately, Eugene runs away in an effort to escape his sexuality. And Lee lives on alone, lonely, and grieving over the loss of Eugene, and dies a miserable death. Whie the movie has a hit of romance; it really is a tragedy of two gay men who are at very different stages of their lives and unable to connect in the early '50s. That is my assessment of the movie.

[@michaelwirick1849]

I've seen it twice. Very good assessment

[@rjcarter2904]

@@michaelwirick1849 Thank you.

[@mandyclark6602]

Awesome comment! Thanks for sharing your insights

[@josephgraham3006]

Lovely & insightful review, fellas. Thanks.

[@josephgraham3006]

I’d kill to j is what you thought of either of my two films, Strapped or Beautiful Something (starring Colman Domingo). I really appreciated in your review of Queer how sensitive you were to older generations feelings of being caught in illegal desire, as well as the filmmaking craft & acting. Keep it up! New subscriber for sure!! ;))

[@guyfromkingshighway6813]

wow excellent review helped me understand a couple things about this movie

[@laserdisc688]

I appreciate the spoiler review. The trailer confused me, and I'm that weird moviegoer that prefers to know what movie I'm going to be walking into. The story does sound very interesting! As a gay male and a fan of Challengers and CMBYN, I think I'm going to like this one a lot. That being said, are the sex scenes as graphic as Luca Guadagnino is making them out to be? My boyfriend and I aren't prudes, but there is something interesting about watching graphic sex scenes with strangers in a darkly-lit auditorium lol

[@jimphillips51]

Thanks. Your review makes me want to see this now.

[@wanya_telborn]

Trent Reznor brilliant song writer 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️❤️❤️🌈🌈🌈 This sounds like I can’t miss it!! ❤😊thx guys for another great video

[@johnparker8490]

Very very insightful appreciation of Queer. Can’t wait to see it. Of note, William Burroughs was a trust fund baby never worked & never had to work a day of his life. So his dissolute persona was somewhat hypocritical. Just saying.

[@dunningdunning4711]

Never worked? He was a trust fund baby, but he had numerous jobs before becoming a writer, of which his favourite was exterminator. To say he never worked is just flat out false. The fund also eventually ran out - but he always had family connections to get him out of jams, where were he not from money, he couldn't just flee to Tangiers and Mexico every time he had a run in with the law. Burroughs is definitely a weird mix of colonial aristocracy and bohemia. I never got the sense he tried to hide it, though. He was an interesting, complicated and troubling character and very unapologetic. My main concern about Queer, the film, is that the trailers make it look like a very sanitized representation of the book.

[@mtotheatothedoubled]

Burroughs will always be the most interesting writer America ever produced.

[@YungNic]

Idk if this is in the movie or not, But William S Bouroughs Was a fckd up individual lol he was sleeping with all those men in mexico bcuz he had just got off the heroine so he got his Libido back 😂(for those wondering, Opiods Will Kill ur sexual drive) And him and his common law wife were going through alot of problems, especially with the fact that SHE didnt have any Benzedrine... And both of them being sober and stranded in mexico made them hate each other, and he shoots her in the head playing the "william tell" game... Then he fled mexico, and never went to prison for it! And the reason he was able to live as freely as he wanted to, was bcuz his parents sent him $200 every month for damn near his whole life, which is why he never had to worry about work or publishing books right away 😂

[@TechnicJunglist]

I really hope this triggers a resurgence in Burroughs. His poetry is especially exceptional and poignant to today. Though highly intelligent and funny, there was an extreme sadness within him that he visibly carried around resulting in his addiction. His cameo in Drugstore Cowboy is pretty great too. Thanks guys and enjoy the holiday.

[@FishareFriendsNotFood972]

Interesting you talk about the couple in the movie seeming empty and alienated, the marketing sold it as very romantic from my perspective.....excited to see this!

[@miuzefreak]

FOR ME: SAD AND WEIRD. not my thing. 😔

[@YHoll]

Same and I usually like weird movies

[@geojorge1369]

The bearded fun loving friend who had been taken advantage by his tricks was portraying Allen Ginsberg. Who was one of the more prominent beat writers of his era.

[@Antfhony]

If I hadn't read the book prior, the first act would've been a bit dull to me. Recalling the details along the way kept me engaged. Second act was meh. Third act, loved it.

[@scarfaceg3465]

Great point, review is good. I'm going to see it.

[@YHoll]

I appreciate your review. Maybe I need to read the books because I couldn’t understand this movie! I felt like I understood some themes but overall it felt confusing and it didn’t help that this movie felt way too long.

[@MegaKonieczko]

Just saw the movie, loved it, but it will be divisive

[@puspavelai8353]

🤨Am sure your review is going to positively help those Daniel Craig's fans appreciate his layered portrayal here☺

[@manuelveidst4869]

I love you guys! But I absolutely detested this film. So shallow and superficial and misleading so unnecessary elliptical. None of the characters are worth rooting for. And what to say about the absolute absurd choice of music. Prince’s “musicology”??😂😂😂 why??? I’m so sick of losing my time in films like that honestly. In a word : NO 😂😂😂 Just my thought though.

[@Rainbowxpride89]

This sounds so depressing.

[@FriendofDorothy]

Oscar bait movies are usually wallows in tragedy.. I'm gonna see this one but I know I will leave the theater asking the same question I ask year after year,, "Can Hollywood EVER make a good film about gay men in which we do not commit suicide, get murdered, have a terminal disease, or are alcoholics or drug addicts?? Yes, this sounds like a cheerful night at the movies!

[@Rainbowxpride89]

@FriendofDorothy I saw it yesterday. I really enjoyed the first act. Exploring the dynamic of the relationship between these two queer men in the 50's. Then.... They go on this strange, pointless and boring trip to find ayahuasca. Craig's character foolishly believes that getting high off of it will grant him telepathic powers. At that point, the movie lost me with all of these nonsensical visions and hallucinations. The ending for Daniel Craig's character was just... depressing; and not even in a cathartic release kind of way. Just sad. Great soundtrack, but it doesn't make up for the pointless journey that I went on.

[@BobAdragna]

Enjoyed your review...

[@lesterguijarro3988]

where did you get that liz taylor shirt

[@fishjellyfilmreviews]

Redbubble

[@collinmiller4721]

Was refreshing to watch a film that teaches modern audiences without feeling modern. This is one movie I’m so happy is so boring. Got to actually reflect on characters who felt like real flawed people.

[@beabravo6759]

Did you guys ever do a Gorillas in the Mist video??

[@fishjellyfilmreviews]

Not yet

[@beabravo6759]

@fishjellyfilmreviews then you shall consider it as Sigourney people.

[@VibrantVenus]

I just got back from seeing this & out of all the films directed by Luca Guadagnino this one is definitely my favorite. I'm gonna go see it again tomorrow.😁

[@jayblaqk]

...as an OBX fan, whose favorite character is Rafe, the combination of Drew Starkey & Daniel Craig was my fanfiction unexpectedly come to life 🙏🏿

[@dianaswan7655]

I just saw this movie today.Daniel Craig(& everyone else)is fantastic.Actually,the more contemporary songs(Prince,Nirvana,etc)were NOT distracting,but very fitting.Yage is the name of the plant that was supposed to enhance telepathy.

[@collinmiller4721]

People are going to reject the movie for reasons it really ought to not be rejected.

[@Abradacabra7]

Guys im sick of young twink/older hunk relationships in gay media

[@adelinasardothien8238]

This book was written in the 50s, get over it lmao

[@jonathanyaputra7562]

@@adelinasardothien8238 Should we get over it? Just because it exist doesn't mean we have to tolerate it

[@JUNI-r1r]

The dont watch it? There are so many relationships that arent like this in gay media, yall just like to nitpick the ones that are as if it doesnt happen irl.

[@Abradacabra7]

@@adelinasardothien8238 it's not just this movie or book. Are u stupid?

[@MrLetmein2011]

As an older hunk I’m offended 😂

[@AC_Anderson]

You guys aren’t reviewing a real pain?

[@ssme_]

Will you guys be reviewing Dear Santa (2024)?

[@drewdolce]

I wanted to like this film, but i was bored to tears by the pacing.

[@androgynous_rexx]

Can a film give you nicotine poisoning bc is2g ☠️😂

[@thesoulcourtesan]

I only went to see it to support Omar Apollo. The full Apollo was not on my bingo card for 2024. I'm not mad about that at all. The Soundtrack took me out of the fantasy.

[@dom_1923]

I think Daniel Craig’s casting was an issue. I think someone like Jim Parsons or Joe Mantello would’ve been better.

[@Raulgermont]

A tedious, clumsy movie. Daniel Craig, fortunately, is terrific in the lead role: always engaging and animated, with some unusual line readings. Leslie Manville's character belongs in a different movie (perhaps a Mexican jungle movie from the 50's).

[@gamerdrops]

This was good? Honestly I'd have to read a lot more a lot it to understand the meaning

[@mocatristao]

🎯

[@Bochanable]

Can’t wait. I’m a huge fan of Guadanigo works especially the dreamy “Call Me By Your Name” (I have an OCD repeatability trait and I have seen it well over 100xs (truth). I have scheduled this for two viewings in the next couple of weeks. Can’t wait. Along with my strange interest in Carlos Castanedas many of his indulgences.

[@lenwelch2195]

Addicts react to all in their world while using as other addictions. To read something more is looking for gold when gold can’t be found.

[@rdb9321]

Hated it (in my Men on Film voice) - Seriously, there were stellar moments/performances by supporting cast but not by the leads - It was weird even through a 50s gay prism

[@Hiphopizlife]

I went in only watching the trailer once thinking it was gonna be a cute queer movie then throughout the movie I’m like wtf am I watching right now 😂 that poor boy is lost in the Amazon jungle and Daniel Craig is back home chilling at the gay bar after like damn that was fucked up?!?!?

[@lenwelch2195]

Director likes the object of the protagonist attention to be blonde and sterile looking. In call me by your name. Movie with Tilda, this film with young man. The object is a construct of protagonist dreams distorted by chemicals in this case alcohol. It’s a story really of alcoholism trying to reach something more meaningful but in reality it’s a hot mess brought on by alcohol.

[@cwdforgood]

SHAME!!!! Thanks for the mention. And I am love, fell in love with Tilda....

[@cwdforgood]

Yeah not possible for him to give...excellent review