Justin Kuritzkes has written only two feature films, both this year, both for director Luca Guadagnino, and both very gay films. First is “Challengers,” which was out in April, and now “Queer,” an adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ novel.
“Queer” depicts both the horniness of Lee (Daniel Craig) — Burroughs’ alter ego — as well as the haziness of his heroin addiction. Lee’s compulsions overlap when he meets Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey) in 1950s Mexico. In Allerton, Lee finds someone he wants to have sex with and do drugs with. The film shows how the relationship between these two men develops over time. Although Lee does not hide his attraction for Allerton, which intensifies, when the men do have sex, it is messy, explicit, complicated and queer.
