Film Review: “Queer”

Guadagnino’s soul-searching adaptation is a mixed bag of moods

If you’re familiar with the literary works of William S. Burroughs, then perhaps you won’t be surprised that film adaptations of his novels contain a strong sense of surreality, auto-biographicality, and intense intimacy. The latter characteristic is also prevalently featured in the works of director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name; Challengers). Despite Guadagnino and Burroughs’ shared love for portraying romantic physicality, and Daniel Craig’s impressively daring and vulnerable performance, Guadagnino’s adaptation of the Burroughs short novel, Queer, tries and often fails to properly balance the two artists’ stylistic approaches. Continue reading “Film Review: “Queer””