Justin Chang

Nobody does forbidden longing in far-off places quite like Luca Guadagnino. He whisked us off to Italy for the passionate affairs of I Am Love and Call Me By Your Name, gave us love and death on a Sicilian island in a bigger splash, and took us all across America in the cannibal romance Bones and All.

Nobody does forbidden longing in far-off places quite like Luca Guadagnino. He whisked us off to Italy for the passionate affairs of I Am Love and Call Me By Your Name, gave us love and death on a Sicilian island in a bigger splash, and took us all across America in the cannibal romance Bones and All.

Now he's made queer, a moody account of thwarted longing that begins in an expat-heavy corner of Mexico City during the early 1950s, a world that Guadagnino brings to life in all its sweaty, scuzzy glory. The story follows an American drifter named William Lee, played by Daniel Craig with a louche smile and nary a hint of 007 elegance.

Now he's made queer, a moody account of thwarted longing that begins in an expat-heavy corner of Mexico City during the early 1950s, a world that Guadagnino brings to life in all its sweaty, scuzzy glory. The story follows an American drifter named William Lee, played by Daniel Craig with a louche smile and nary a hint of 007 elegance.

Now he's made queer, a moody account of thwarted longing that begins in an expat-heavy corner of Mexico City during the early 1950s, a world that Guadagnino brings to life in all its sweaty, scuzzy glory. The story follows an American drifter named William Lee, played by Daniel Craig with a louche smile and nary a hint of 007 elegance.

Addicted to booze and heroin, Lee spends his days hopping from bar to bar, hoping to lock eyes and more with the handsome young men he spots there and around town. And few are more handsome than Eugene Allerton, a freshly discharged U.S. Navy serviceman played by a terrific Drew Starkey.

Addicted to booze and heroin, Lee spends his days hopping from bar to bar, hoping to lock eyes and more with the handsome young men he spots there and around town. And few are more handsome than Eugene Allerton, a freshly discharged U.S. Navy serviceman played by a terrific Drew Starkey.

Addicted to booze and heroin, Lee spends his days hopping from bar to bar, hoping to lock eyes and more with the handsome young men he spots there and around town. And few are more handsome than Eugene Allerton, a freshly discharged U.S. Navy serviceman played by a terrific Drew Starkey.

allerton is trim slender and aloof to the point of disdainful which makes lee lust for him all the more in time after a few meals and many drinks the two fall into bed in a scene that guadagnino films with both roughness and tenderness but once isn't enough for lee and he spends every minute trying to keep this enigmatic young beauty from slipping away

allerton is trim slender and aloof to the point of disdainful which makes lee lust for him all the more in time after a few meals and many drinks the two fall into bed in a scene that guadagnino films with both roughness and tenderness but once isn't enough for lee and he spends every minute trying to keep this enigmatic young beauty from slipping away

allerton is trim slender and aloof to the point of disdainful which makes lee lust for him all the more in time after a few meals and many drinks the two fall into bed in a scene that guadagnino films with both roughness and tenderness but once isn't enough for lee and he spends every minute trying to keep this enigmatic young beauty from slipping away

At one point, a drunken Lee approaches Allerton at a party and causes a bit of a scene, prompting a friend, Tom, to intervene.

At one point, a drunken Lee approaches Allerton at a party and causes a bit of a scene, prompting a friend, Tom, to intervene.

At one point, a drunken Lee approaches Allerton at a party and causes a bit of a scene, prompting a friend, Tom, to intervene.

Yeah. A cup of water, maybe? Lee is a fictionalized stand-in for the beat writer William S. Burroughs, whose years spent living in Mexico were eventful, to say the least. He began writing queer in 1952, while awaiting trial for the killing of his wife, Joan Vollmer, during a drunken game of William Tell.

Yeah. A cup of water, maybe? Lee is a fictionalized stand-in for the beat writer William S. Burroughs, whose years spent living in Mexico were eventful, to say the least. He began writing queer in 1952, while awaiting trial for the killing of his wife, Joan Vollmer, during a drunken game of William Tell.

Yeah. A cup of water, maybe? Lee is a fictionalized stand-in for the beat writer William S. Burroughs, whose years spent living in Mexico were eventful, to say the least. He began writing queer in 1952, while awaiting trial for the killing of his wife, Joan Vollmer, during a drunken game of William Tell.

Burroughs never finished the book, which was finally published in its incomplete form in 1985. By that point, he had become a countercultural icon, known for his boldly experimental works like Naked Lunch, his struggles with addiction, and his many sexual relationships with men and women. Guadagnino has said in interviews that he read Queer at a young age and has wanted to film it for years.

Burroughs never finished the book, which was finally published in its incomplete form in 1985. By that point, he had become a countercultural icon, known for his boldly experimental works like Naked Lunch, his struggles with addiction, and his many sexual relationships with men and women. Guadagnino has said in interviews that he read Queer at a young age and has wanted to film it for years.

Burroughs never finished the book, which was finally published in its incomplete form in 1985. By that point, he had become a countercultural icon, known for his boldly experimental works like Naked Lunch, his struggles with addiction, and his many sexual relationships with men and women. Guadagnino has said in interviews that he read Queer at a young age and has wanted to film it for years.