Bye-Bye Bond: In the new film “Queer” Daniel Craig is on the hunt for love – and LSD

There are films that are already hype long before they reach the cinema. And when they actually appear, it no longer really matters whether they are really worth the hype. It feels like half of her plot has already been seen and loved on Instagram in mini-clips or behind-the-scenes pictures. Sofia Coppola's films are a bit like that, lately. And Luca Guadagnino's works have also lived for years based on the principle “anticipation is the most beautiful joy”. The latest example is hisMovie “Queer”, thestarts on January 2, 2025, but has been under discussion for much longer. Which is also due to the unusual cast.

The main role in “Queer” is played by Daniel Craig and that caused astonished reactions around two years ago when Guadagnino announced his next film idea. Because: Daniel Craig, as the film title suggests, plays a gay dandy in Mexico in the 1950s. And breaks away from his eternal image as a beefy agent. Instead of wearing a bulletproof vest over his six-pack, Craig in “Queer” is seen prancing through the dusty streets of Mexico City in fine, sand-colored linen suits, fedoras and thick glasses. And in this sensitive role, you can't really believe whether he could actually shoot with the revolver in his jacket that he had previously put in his pocket. Something that was never doubted about Bond. Craig shows a new acting side of himself in “Queer” – and is currently experiencing the image change in his private life as well. Which only increased the hype around the film.

The 56-year-old is usually known as classic British à la Bond. With slicked back hair, suits like from Savile Row and a rather icy expression on the red carpet. But everything has changed since last summer: Craig is the new brand ambassador. And in the current campaign she wears long hair and cheerful clothing that is reminiscent of a noble hippie. Like tie-dye cashmere hoodies. Necklace with gemstones like from the Ibiza market. And loose harem pants. The Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson, who also created the costumes for “Queer,” gave Craig a two-fold fashion image change, both filmically and privately.

Craig's new Loewe look drew a wave of enthusiasm. And he's been topping the 2024 best-dressed lists ever since. But how is Daniel Craig doing in his new film role? Unusually good. The director Luca Guadagnino said during the world premiere of "Queer" at the Venice Biennale that he had had Daniel Craig as his preferred candidate for the leading role since he first read the book (the film is based on an autobiographical novel by William S. Burroughs). had a head. He wanted to show a different acting quality from Craig. And free him from his Bond cliché. If you finally see “Queer” now, you can say: he succeeded. And a very own one, which is artful but not artificially flat, at that.

William Lee (Daniel Craig) is an American living in Mexico. He doesn't work and his days usually look the same: wake up at some point during the day with a hangover, put on something elegant and look for the next high of alcohol and drugs, preferably heroin, in the scorching heat of the city. He wanders through cafés and bars in Mexico, has one-night stands and never really knows what or who he actually wants. An outsider looking for fulfillment and a soul mate. And one evening he suddenly seems to come into his life: At a cockfight (attention, stylistic devices!) he sees young Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), an ex-soldier, and immediately falls in love. Craig plays his first, clumsy approach and how it fails in a very amusing way. A fun game of cat and mouse begins.

Because Eugene doesn't make things easy for William. A friend of William characterizes him like a fish: “Hard to catch”. A dance of attraction and repulsion, of hope and disappointment develops. Both men are very different. William drug-stricken and insecure. Eugene young, beautiful and confident. William wants closeness that Eugene cannot and does not want to give him. And which Guadagnino has implemented wonderfully on film: with scenes in which William's dreams and reality mix with each other. And desired hugs are ghostly hinted at. So William makes Eugene a sad offer: he'll pay him to spend time together, which Eugene accepts. And that leads the two of them together into the jungle. Because William is looking for the plant Yage, which promises psychedelic effects. Ultimately with an unexpected impact on both of them.

Luca Guadagnino shows a very poetic side with “Queer”. And chooses an artistically playful approach. Was his last tennis ménage-à-troisalmost hyperreal and futuristic in its sleek settings, “Queer” has a more vintage feel. The film was shot almost entirely in sets and this artificiality is not concealed but emphasized. The film sometimes seems charmingly nostalgic and out of time. And is artfully alienated and brought into the now through surreal, drug-intoxicated moments. Guadagnino, now an interior designer himself, created colorful retro settings. Andchose the costumes, which all really come from the 1950s, but don't distract from the plot like a costume film. But they really and naturally look like they have been worn for years. For William in particular, they should always seem “soaked in heroin.”

With “Queer,” Luca Guadagnino has made one of his most humane films to date. It's a kind of "coming of age" story of a lonely over-50-year-old looking for love and himself. And reveals his innermost being. In times of home streaming, “Queer” has become a real movie and unfolds most impressively on the big screen with its rich colors, art and atmosphere. And is worth the hype.