Queer (2024) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman

Release Date: May 27, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

1950. William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton, an expat former soldier, new to the city, shows him, for the first time, that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody.

‘Queer’ tells the story of an American expat named William Lee who spends his days in Mexico largely alone aside from a friend or two also residing in the area, often attempting to find a physical connection with random young men on random evenings while also attempting to balance his alcohol and heroin addictions. But when Lee encounters a former soldier named Eugene he soon becomes enthralled with the younger man. Uncertain of the other’s intentions or preferences, Lee tries to build a bond with Eugene and begins to see a potential for a real connection after all of these lonely years.

Directed by talented filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Bones and All) from a screenplay written by Justin Kuritzkes (Challengers) and based upon the novel by William S. Burroughs, Guadagnino does a nice job at the helm of ‘Queer’ guiding along the tale with heart, wonder and weirdness. The film’s cast includes Daniel Craig (No Time to Die), Drew Starkey (TV’s Outer Banks), Jason Schwartzman (Asteroid City), Henrique Zaga (Warfare), Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) and more, with the majority offering solid and even notable performances in their respective roles, especially Craig who delivers a powerful and memorable performance in the lead.

‘Queer’ offers a beautiful, strange and heartfelt tale that at times verges into the realm of almost drug-fueled psychedelic trip, but at the very least is quite a far cry from the typical film formula, with Guadagnino once again utilizing his original and colorful style to form this one into something very different and unique. It starts off with a fairly generic premise and setting as it follows a lonely man trying to enjoy his drunk and drug-fueled days in Mexico after being forced to leave his own country and his awkwardness when confronted with the possibility of a relationship with real purpose and the potential for love after so much time only being interested in basic carnal desires.

For those familiar with Guadagnino’s unique filmmaking approach it should be little surprise that the film becomes increasingly more strange and hypnotic as it builds before going into a truly wild and brain-jumbling place in the final act. Always rich with bright, specific colors and giving off an unusual aura throughout, it’s truly stunning visually and anyone who appreciates the more intricate elements of filmmaking and the unique choices many embrace should find a great deal to appreciate about this one simply from its style and appearance. Further benefitting from some noteworthy performances by Daniel Craig and Jason Schwartzman among others and its willingness to go to some very odd, yet dazzling places helps it to become something memorable, even if the odd way it evolves causes a bit of hiccup and confusion by the end and will likely have many viewers confused by what exactly is going on at times. It does help tremendously to let go of trying to decipher everything and instead just roll with it and embrace the strange ride as it comes.

Overall, ‘Queer’ is a strange, beautiful and visually stunning tale of one man’s inebriated daily life in 1950’s Mexico and an unexpected chance at love and a meaningful connection that alters his perspective. While it does definitely get a little odd and out there as it progresses and might have some a bit baffled with its course at times, ‘Queer’ is definitely recommended for any fans of director Luca Guadagnino and of star Daniel Craig who should appreciate this one in many ways, and many will likely even applaud its odd choices and tone throughout. It’s definitely different so if you haven’t yet had the pleasure and aren’t a massive fan of or aren’t overly familiar with Guadagnino’s work in general then it probably won’t hurt to rent it before purchasing a copy just to be safe because it won’t be for everyone, yet many others will also probably enjoy revisiting it time and again.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Queer’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks fantastic as a whole and provides a clean, sharp, colorful and filmic appearance throughout that’s rich with detail and never suffers from any unexpected issues arising along the way. Detail is spectacular on character faces, clothing and even the sweat pouring down so many faces in the sweltering Mexico heat, while colors are sharp and vibrant, and black levels remain rich, deep and clean for the most part. Overall, this is a wonderful high definition presentation that looks good at pretty much every step and it should easily please fans as well as first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite solid in its own right and it delivers a clean, crisp and fairly immersive audio presentation throughout. It takes advantage of all seven available channels fairly regularly in order to send music, crowd chatter, nature effects and some other tidbits overtaking the various speakers whenever appropriate, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain sharp, clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers in every way required of it and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Queer’ features a nice helping of bonus content on the disc that fans should appreciate, along with a set of 6 Collectible Postcards included within. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Luca Guadagnino, Costume Designer Jonathan W. Anderson, Writer Justin Kuritzkes, Editor Marco Costa, and Production Designer Stefano Baisi’, in addition to ‘Diverso: The Making of Queer’ (running approximately 34 minutes in length) which explores various elements of bringing the film to life and includes interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. Also included are some additional Featurettes/videos including ‘Scene Breakdown’ (running approximately 5 minutes), ‘VFX Breakdown’ (approximately 3 minutes) and ‘Miniatures Behind the Scenes’ (3 minutes), plus the ‘“Te Maldigo” Music Video’ (3 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘Queer’ is Now Available to Own on Special Edition Blu-ray & on Digital from A24

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You can purchase ‘Queer’ on Blu-ray at Amazon HERE or directly from A24 HERE!

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