Queer (2024) on Netflix
In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee, an American in his late forties, passes his days in bars with younger men. He pursues a young GI, Eugene Allerton, hoping for affection.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.3/1031,164 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes77%
Trailer
Plot summary
William Lee, an American expatriate in his late forties, lives in Mexico City in 1950, passing his time bar hopping and sleeping with younger men. He keeps mostly to himself among the city's small American community. Then he notices Eugene Allerton, a young GI and fellow American. Lee grows obsessed, trailing him from bar to bar in the hope of winning his affection and wanting at last a meaningful connection. The two do form a relationship, but Allerton stays emotionally distant and is often seen with a woman, telling Lee that he is not queer the way Lee is.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Queer (2024)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Drew Starkey was cast after an audition tape he had made for another project landed in front of director Luca Guadagnino; Guadagnino consulted Daniel Craig, who watched the tape and said, "That's the guy." They auditioned three hundred people for the role.
- Queer was banned in Turkey, and distributor Mubi responded by canceling a film festival that the film had been set to open in November 2024.
- The version of Queer submitted to and accepted by the Venice Film Festival ran 185 to 200 minutes; it was cut down to its final length of 135 minutes.
- Because Burroughs' novella was published unfinished, screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes and Guadagnino consulted Burroughs scholar Oliver Harris on how to give the text a fitting ending while maintaining the author's vision.
- The first track from the Queer score album, "Vaster than Empires", performed by Trent Reznor and Brazilian composer Caetano Veloso, contains lyrics from William S. Burroughs' final diary entry.
