Queer | Review by: Gal Balaban

Visionary director Luca Guadagnino excels in capturing raw human connection, in all its beauty and discomfort. Queer focuses on Lee, an American living in Mexico City who wanders the streets, and soon strikes up a romance with a younger man (Drew Starkey) in a bar. The first act is filled with that unpredictable energy that makes Guadagnino’s films stand out, including excellent cinematography and truly inspired soundtrack choices. Craig is giving his best dramatic performance yet. Lee is a truly lonesome man with a hole inside him that he has no idea how he’ll ever fill. Craig truly lets us feel the character's soul in the quietest moments of the film. Jason Schwarzman entertains in a humorous supporting role, and Lesley Manville plays a particularly fantastic part.

Where the film truly falters is its dreadful pace. It loses much of its energy in the aimless second and third acts which feel like such little drama stretched so thin. Craig’s performance and his chemistry with Drew Starkey take a backseat to the uninteresting atmosphere building that takes too long. By the time you reach the end, it feels more like a cliched downer than an earned journey to this complex and sad character’s journey. Mileage may very in this surreal yet uneven and indulgent film from Guadagnino, but it feels to maintain its hold on its audience and say something truly meaningful, instead, begging to drag on and on past its breaking point.

2.5/5

Review by: Gal Balaban

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