Time: 137 Minutes
Cast:
Daniel Craig as William Lee
Drew Starkey as Eugene Allerton
Jason Schwartzman as Joe Guidry
Lesley Manville as Dr. Cotter
Henrique Zaga as Winston Moor
Director: Luca Guadagnino

Queer is the newest movie from Luca Guadagnino, and actually his second movie from 2024, following the excellent Challengers. Mainly I knew that Daniel Craig was starring in the lead role, and that was it. Unsurprisingly, it’s another great film from Guadagnino, and is among his best.

Following the journey of Daniel Craig’s character, Queer is a movie about loneliness, longing, yearning, self loathing and desire to be loved, and it was captivating to watch. It’s an emotionally intimate story that is hauntingly sad, and the melancholy is really felt throughout. The latter half and particularly the third act is where some people might be turned off from the movie. It leans a lot more into the strange and the surreal, and I was intrigued to see where it would go throughout, even if the pacing can halt at points. It all comes together and hits really hard in its ending.

Daniel Craig delivers an excellent performance and the best of his career as protagonist William Lee. Through his dedicated and honest acting, he so effectively conveys Lee’s vulnerability, loneliness and yearning, and absolutely commands the screen. It really is among the best performances from 2024, and one of the best performances in a Guadagnino film. Drew Starkey is also really good and compliments Craig very well. Jason Schwartzman makes for a fun comic relief supporting character, and Lesley Manville is a scene stealer in the third act.

As expected, Luca Guadagnino has directed this phenomenally. It is very stylish and the technical elements are all top notch. The cinematography is gorgeous with amazing visuals, and sensual and surreal imagery. The use of music is amazing, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross have created yet another phenomenal and hypnotic score, and the movie also has some of the best needledrops from a 2024 film.

Queer is a beautiful, sad, tender and captivating film about loneliness and yearning, phenomenally directed and with outstanding performances, especially from a career best Daniel Craig. Among the best movies of 2024.