35/49
In 1950s Mexico City, a 40-something American immigrant lives in a small American community of hermits. However, the arrival of a new student encourages the man to finally make a meaningful connection with someone. Ultimately, it was Daniel Craig who convinced Luca Guadagnino to cast Drew Starkey after watching the audition tapes with Guadagnino and saying, “That’s it.” “The guy” after seeing Starkey… William Lee: Sit on your ass! Or what’s left of it after four years in the Navy. The Graham Norton Show starred: Daniel Craig/Nicola Collen/Jesse Eisenberg/Kieran Culkin/Flo (2024). I’ve never seen “Full Lunch.” (1991), but I found myself thinking about it often when screening Queer at the 2024 London Film Festival: perhaps to be expected, since William S Burroughs provided the source material for both films. In 1950s Mexico, William Lee, an American writer in his… forties? Fifties? His days are spent getting drunk, shooting up, and having casual sex with other men. One day, a muscular, intelligent young man named Eugene walks into the bar, and Lee is smitten. But what does Eugene himself want? Plus, there’s that telepathic drug thing to think about… I’m not sure what director Luca Guadagnino is trying to achieve stylistically with this film. The sets are decorated almost exclusively in solid colors – like dull red and olive green – and have a stark, vaguely unrealistic Technicolor look that made me think the intention was to pay homage to the films of the era in which the film is set. But if that’s the case, why the decidedly 50s rock and techno soundtrack? Daniel Craig (is it my imagination or is he starting to sound like Sid James?) is overpowered by the lead role, constantly having to deliver nonsensical speeches in an accent that’s clearly not his own. Drew Starkey is able to give a more subtle performance as the manipulative Eugene, and certainly seems the more appealing role. Leslie Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the South American jungle – kudos to the makeup team! This is the kind of film that seems to me to be more about the art style than the story. It was nice to see it once, but I won’t watch it again.
