EntertainmentMoviesDrama MoviesDaniel Craig’s new romantic drama makes for an unexpected perfect double bill with director Luca Guadagnino’s previous movie ChallengersWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesDrama MoviesDaniel Craig’s new romantic drama makes for an unexpected perfect double bill with director Luca Guadagnino’s previous movie ChallengersWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: A24)
Two Luca Guadagnino movies in one year? 2024 is spoiling us. Queer, the director’s follow-up to Challengers, however, is a different tube of tennis balls entirely, despite re-teaming with screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom for his latest film.
Big Screen SpotlightShining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday
Big Screen Spotlight
Shining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday
Shining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday
(Image credit: A24)
The harder Lee tries, the more it seems to push Allerton away. Throughout the film, windows and panes of glass constantly create distance between bodies, both in real life and surreal dream sequences. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then even the glasses Lee and Allerton both wear add an extra degree of separation between the pair.
During their time in the rainforest, Lee and Allerton encounter Lesley Manville’s eccentric and reclusive scientist Dr. Cotter, an expert on yage. She tells Lee that a door has already opened and he can’t close it, he can only look away. She’s referring to use of the drug, but the statement also applies to his queerness and desire. “I’m not queer, I’m disembodied,” Lee says at one point, looking away from who he is, but also inadvertently revealing that his quest for another person is also a quest for a sense of self.
Big Screen Spotlight(Image credit: A24)A surreal new drama with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score from the director of one of my favorite films is now out – and it should definitely be on your weekend watchlist
Big Screen Spotlight
(Image credit: A24)A surreal new drama with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score from the director of one of my favorite films is now out – and it should definitely be on your weekend watchlist
(Image credit: A24)
A surreal new drama with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score from the director of one of my favorite films is now out – and it should definitely be on your weekend watchlist
In Challengers, the central trio’s sexualities are inextricably bound up in their love of tennis, and there’s a similar connection in Queer between Lee’s desire and drug usage – both his experimentation with yage and his heroin addiction. In both films, sex is both a stand-in for a seemingly unrelated fixation in their protagonists' lives and also something that goes hand-in-hand with that obsession. One thing can’t exist without the other.
So, while Queer and Challengers may look like very different movies on the surface (there are no psychedelic sequences in Challengers, for one thing), the two films are actually natural bedfellows (no pun intended) in Guadagnino’s filmography. As a director, he’s an expert on desire, love, and sensuality, whether that’s on the tennis court or in a sweaty hotel room in Mexico City.
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Queer is out now. For more on what to watch, check out the rest of ourBig Screen Spotlightseries.
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