PublishedSeptember 3, 2024, 19:23
CinemaDaniel Craig buries the alpha male of 007 in “Queer”
The actor stars in Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, a gay ramble under the influence of alcohol and drugs, presented in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
In ‘Queer’, Daniel Craig plays a middle-aged American, drowning his boredom in Mezcal at a bar frequented by the gay community.
AFP
The time is right to play with glamorous sex symbols and gender stereotypes at the Mostra: after Nicole Kidman, filmed on all fours lapping a cup of milk in a submission game in the erotic thriller “Babygirl”, it’s another star, Daniel Craig, who played with his glossy image on Tuesday.
The 56-year-old actor, renowned for his role as James Bond (“Casino Royale”, “Skyfall”, etc.), had already begun distancing the character from macho clichés in the last installment, “No Time to Die”, where he was seen as a father.
Now free from the role of 007, Craig completely reinvents himself in “Queer”, which is vying for the Golden Lion. He has dreamed for years of working with Luca Guadagnino, the 53-year-old Italian filmmaker who has become Hollywood’s darling since launching Timothée Chalamet with “Call Me by Your Name”, confirming Craig’s star status. He revels in playing with his own image.
The film is inspired by the novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs, a literary figure of the Beat Generation alongside his friends Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, intertwining themes of homosexuality, drugs, and alcohol.
Steamy Scenes
“Queer” is a “very short” book but “filled with emotion”: “It speaks of love, loss, loneliness, desire; it talks about all of that,” summarized Daniel Craig in Venice.
Craig plays a middle-aged American, drowning his boredom in Mezcal at a bar frequented by the gay community in post-war Mexico City. With glances exchanged, casual conversations, and carnal interludes, he falls in love with a young compatriot played by Drew Starkey, 30, known from the series “Outer Banks”.
More commonly seen with a gun in hand and a Bond girl by his side, Daniel Craig reveals himself here as never before in steamy sex scenes on screen with Drew Starkey. The actor shared that he turned to dancing to break the ice.
“You know as well as I do that there is nothing intimate about filming a sex scene. The room is full of people watching you,” he told the press. “Drew and I started rehearsals months before shooting began. (…) Dancing with someone is a great way to break the ice.”
With “Queer”, “we just wanted to create something as touching, authentic, and natural as possible,” highlighted Daniel Craig, whose character is often shown dripping with sweat in a filthy white suit.
This naturalism does not stop Luca Guadagnino from offering, as usual, a very stylized universe, drawing here from the photography of Edward Hopper, as well as the atmosphere of Henri Rousseau when the two characters venture into the Amazon to taste a hallucinogenic plant, Ayahuasca.
The film is very carnal, like his previous works, such as “Challengers”, released in the spring, featuring steamy scenes between Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. With Daniel Craig this time, the filmmaker explained that he had “one of the very rare iconic actors willing to show their vulnerability.”
(afp)