‘Queer’ looks just as steamy as ‘Challengers’
The highly anticipated Luca Guadagnino film has a suspenseful new trailer. Here, read about when to expect the flick in Australian cinemas, the stacked cast, and the symbolism behind that ominous centipede
COULD THE ITALIAN filmmaker outdo his already sweaty Challengers? In a new trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film Queer, starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey as age-gap lovers, the Italian auteur has seemingly done it again. Based on the novel of the same name by American writer William S. Burroughs, the film follows Lee (Craig) and Eugene Allerton (Starkey) as they have an affair set against the backdrop of mid-century Mexico City. Menswear cinephiles, prepare to eat your heart out.
But the movie is not in the least a fashion movie. Be warned, you can expect Craig to have yet another metamorphosis, though this time into a centipede. Read on to find out why, the symbolism behind it, as well as the stacked cast that includes our favourite Tall Papi, Omar Apollo, and when you can expect to see it in Australia.
Watch the Queer trailer here
What is Queer about?
The film is based on the novella Queer by the counterculture author William S. Burroughs, and will be adapted by Justin Kuritzkes. Burroughs wrote the book in 1952, but wasn’t published until 1985.
A period drama set in the 1950s, the film follows William Lee (Daniel Craig), an American expat living adrift in Mexico City, after fleeing a drug bust in New Orleans. One night, while cruising around the city’s clubs, Lee becomes infatuated with a younger man named Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a discharged American Navy serviceman from a preppy background. Soon, the two start having an affair.
Who is in the cast of Queer?
The main cast includes:
- Daniel Craig plays William Lee, an outcast American expat living adrift in 1950s Mexico City. Lee is Burroughs’ alter ego.
- Drew Starkey plays Eugene Allerton, a preppy ex-military kid and Lee’s younger love-interest.
- Lesley Manville plays Dr. Cotter, a scientist, living in a jungle hideaway, who experiments with a psychedelic drug Lee and Eugene are after.
- Jason Schwartzman stars as Joe, Lee’s feckless friend. Schwartzman, best known for his comedic chops, acts as the film’s humorist and warm lever in the dramatic setting.
- Omar Apollo is making his acting debut in a role not yet entirely known. But judging by early clips featuring the singer and Craig’s character, the two seem to have frequent dalliances. When news broke of Apollo’s involvement, he said in an interview that he “didn’t even audition for this. Somebody DM’d me, ‘Yo, Luca wants you to be in a movie’.” That’s our Tall Papi.
Who is directing Queer?
Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino is the director of Queer.
Guadagnino brought on playwright and novelist Justin Kuritzkes to adapt the film from the 1985 novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs. If there’s anything to expect in terms of style, Kuritzkes wrote the original screenplay for Guadagnino’s Challengers. Queer is the writer’s second Guadagnino project and second feature film.
And to double down again in the production department, fashion designer Jonathan Anderson has returned to design the mid-century costumes for the film, making Queer his second Guadagnino project as well.
It’s a bit of a round two for this particular trio of creative collaborators, one that will surely give Challengers‘ steaminess earlier this year a run for its money.
What does the centipede symbolise in Queer?
For those with chilopodophobia (a fear of centipedes), look away. The predatory arthropod features ominously throughout new posters and trailers for the film. So what could the symbolism be behind the centipede, you ask? What could this beast that Burroughs loathed so much have to do with Queer?
The countercultural author was known for his experimental prose: often nightmarish worlds that depicted drug culture. Animals are populated throughout Burroughs’ novels (famously baboons, cats, lemurs and centipedes), working as vessels of self-reflection for his characters. The centipede in particular appears throughout Queer as a symbol of Venusian fascism, a mind-controlling horror opposed to free thought, racial tolerance and gay rights – major themes in Burroughs’ work.
Without spoiling too much, a major theme in the book is Lee struggling with his homosexuality and desire for the young Allerton. Lee embodies the typical mid-century American man: believing in an anti-communist point of view that conflated homosexuality and communism as similar threats undermining American society. This is where the centipede comes in, whereby the image of the arthropod appears as a vision when Lee first encounters Allerton – a metamorphosis into a predator searching for an object of desire.
In terms of the Guadagnino-directed film, it’s a Kafka-esque departure from his so far naturalistic work. So consider this your warning if the multi-legged insect isn’t your thing, much less seeing Daniel Craig turn into one.
When is the Queer release date in Australia?
There is no official release date for Australia just yet. However, an Australian release is speculated for early 2025.
The film premiered during the 81st Venice Film Festival in September to critical acclaim. And if you find yourself in the United States, Queer is slated for release on November 27.
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