34/41
In 1950s Mexico, an American immigrant in his forties lives among a small community of American hermits. But the arrival of a new student prompts the man to finally make a meaningful connection with someone. Ultimately, Daniel Craig convinced Luke Guadagnino to play Drew Starkey after he watched the audition tapes with Guadagnino and told him “It”; s boyfriend" after seeing Starkey… William Lee: Sit on your ass! Or what’s left after four years in the Navy. The Graham Norton Show Starring: Daniel Craig / Nicole Cullen / Jess Eisenberg / Kieran Culkin / Flo (2024). I’ve never seen 'The Whole South' (1991), but in 2024 I often thought about this at the screening of Query at the London Film Festival: perhaps to be expected, since William S. Burroughs provided the source material for both films. In the 1950s' Mexico, William Lee, an American writer from the wrong…side of the forties? Fifty? They spend their days getting drunk, shooting and having casual sex with other men. One day, a muscular, intelligent guy walks into the bar and Lee is smitten. But what does Yevgeny himself want? Also, there’s a telepathic drug to think about… I’m not sure what director Luca Guadagnino is going for stylistically with this film. The sets are decorated almost entirely in block colors – dull reds and olive greens, for example – and have a vaguely unreal, pure Technicolor look that led me to believe there was an intention to pay homage to the era in which the film takes place. But if so, why a 1950s rock and techno soundtrack? Daniel Craig (is it my imagination or is he starting to look like Sid James?) is a blast in the lead role as he constantly has to come up with nonsense. with an accent clearly not his own. Drew Starkey, as the manipulative Eugene, is able to give a more nuanced performance and certainly looks the part. Leslie Manville is unrecognizable as a doctor living in the jungles of South America – great for the makeup team! It’s the kind of movie that I think has more to do with the artistic style than the story. It was good to see it once, but I won’t be watching it again.