Queer

This is based on an unfinished novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs. As such it is a stream-of-consciousness wandering involving sex and drugs.

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The film itself isn’t structured with a plot and doesn’t really have a point. Aside from the absolutely stellar performance by Daniel Craig, and two or three exceptionally well-done scenes, I wouldn’t recommend it.

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The story follows an American expat, played by Craig, in South America as he scores and is obsessive over sexual partners, does drugs, and goes on a quest to drink one of the plants that comprise the concoction Ayahuasca. It’s surreal and the ending reminded me of 2021: A Space Odyssey with an old man, music, and phantom memories.

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Watching Daniel Craig simulate sex with men and shoot heroin, pretty darn convincingly, I wondered if after having been James Bond, a murder detective from Kentucky, a schizophrenic, an Irish Mobster, good and bad people in various crime thrillers, and all kinds of classic characters in a ton of stage productions (including a revival of Macbeth on Broadway), he was on the lookout for projects like this. One that challenges our assumptions of him, that are creatively beyond what he’s done already, and that don’t give the viewer total clarity.

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Watching him be a jonesing creep in this was like watching a band of really excellent musicians play music you wouldn’t ordinarily like. It’s impossible to say it isn’t good because the performance is just so well-done. In the case of this movie, if you go into it not expecting it to make sense you’ll enjoy it more.

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Jason Schwartzman does a break-out performance in a fat suit as Daniel’s lecherous side kick.