Queer

Were it not for the fact that it features an ex "007", I reckon this would be an almost instantly forgettable gay-themed drama that could easily be found on Dekkoo in a year to two. Anyway, Daniel Craig is the independently wealthy "Lee" and living in a Mexico City where in between tequila and heroine sessions, he tries to pick up young men. He's not a bad looker and so usually gets some entertainment (paid for, or otherwise) but then he spots an enigmatic young man who comes to their local bar to play chess with a red-headed woman. Intrigued, his usually effective introductions seem to fall…

Filmmaking that calls for its audiences to study up on its source material (not to mention the life of the creator of that source material) before screening it is, in my opinion, irresponsible, placing an undue burden on viewers in advance. Indeed, if a picture is unable to stand on its own to be at least modestly comprehensible on its face, then that’s a production with an innate handicap from the outset. Such is the case with director Luca Guadagnino’s film adaptation of author William S. Burroughs’s 1985 semi-autobiographical novella, a glacially paced, meandering, pretentious,…