Queer
Lee (Daniel Craig), a solitary American in Mexico City, falls for a beautiful, elusive former soldier (Drew Starkey). Journeying together into the jungle, Lee sees, for the first time, the possibility of an intimate and infinite love.
Michael Heimgartner reviewed
October 1, 2025•
A Fever Dream Without Direction
Luca Guadagnino is a filmmaker I deeply admire. His style is unmistakable, rich in visual poetry and emotional nuance. But Queer is, sadly, his weakest film to date. While it begins with a certain structure and intrigue, it quickly descends into a meandering, unfocused fever dream that left me emotionally detached and, frankly, bored.
Daniel Craig deserves real credit here. He fully commits and proves he can do far more than his Bond persona ever allowed. His portrayal is brave and layered and it’s perhaps the film’s most compelling element. That said, his character, like most in the film, remains frustratingly opaque. We learn very little about him beyond his dependence on sex and opiates. The younger love interest, who should carry significant emotional weight, is similarly underwritten and lacks any real depth or development.
Visually, the film is stunning. There’s no denying Guadagnino’s talent as a stylist. Mexico City is transformed into a place that feels suspended between reality and dream with heat-soaked colors, saturated textures and an atmosphere that borders on the hypnotic. The occasional use of miniatures and stylized set pieces feel like loving nods to the cinema of the 1950s, grounding the film in its period while simultaneously lifting it into the surreal. I genuinely felt the weight of the heat, the sweat, the slow unraveling of sanity. This is Guadagnino at his most tactile.
Yet despite this beauty the film just doesn’t work for me. Scenes drag far too long and often lead nowhere. Dialogue becomes repetitive and the narrative loses any sense of urgency or direction. Artistic flourishes can only carry a film so far if there’s no emotional spine to hold onto. And that’s the biggest problem: the story feels hollow. There’s very little to connect to and the characters remain distant as if trapped in their own stylistic cages.
I’m sure Queer will find its audience. It’s undeniably bold and unafraid to linger on the messy uncomfortable aspects of desire and dependency. It’s also visually accomplished and occasionally hypnotic. But for me it felt like a series of beautifully filmed ideas that never quite congealed into a compelling whole. I respect the attempt. I admire the craft. But the experience left me cold.