‘Queer’ Bounces Around 1950s Mexico City and Then Heads Down to the Jungle

November 27, 2024

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A still from the movie Queer, accompanying a review of the movie Queer (CREDIT: Yannis Drakoulidis/A24)

Starring: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville, Drew Droege, Henrique Zaga, Omar Apollo, Ariel Schulman, David Lowery

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Running Time: 135 Minutes

Rating: R for Explicit Sex and Explicit Drug Use

Release Date: November 27, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Sharp-dressed 1950s man-about-town William Lee is hanging out in Mexico City, since his status as an opioid addict makes him a criminal back in the United States. True to the title of the movie he’s in (and the William S. Burroughs novella it’s based on), he whiles away his days looking for other men to hook up with (when he’s not otherwise occupied by getting high or downing tequila). One strapping young lad named Eugene Allerton (Drew Stareky) particularly catches his attention. He’s a little different than the other guys in the city’s queer community, but soon enough, he and Lee are inseparable, and then they head down to the jungles of South America to find a doctor who can open up their mind to the possibility of telepathy.

What Made an Impression?: Constant Intoxication: Queer is divided into three chapters and an epilogue; the first is easily the most plotless, though it’s not without its charms. It would have you believe that the Mexico City of 70 years ago was made up entirely of bars that exclusively catered to American gay men, alongside the occasional movie theater. This means that we get to see Daniel Craig attempt a few awkward dances of seduction before fully dropping trou on multiple occasions. The sex scenes are much more explicit (and passionate) than the average theatrically released American movie (regardless of the orientation of the characters), so that’s worth noting if you’re worried that cinema has lost its horny edge. But if you’re like me, you might start to wonder if this is what the entire movie is going to be non-stop for two hours and 15 minutes. Fortunately, some other stuff happens eventually as well.
Vipers and Vegetation: As Lee and Allerton knock on the door of the doctor in the jungle (a barely recognizable Lesley Manville), they’re greeted by an angry snake who nearly rips their heads off. And it’s at precisely this moment that reality becomes more or less fully altered. Lee’s dreams of telepathy aren’t exactly realized, but everything does become about a thousand times more psychedelic. The two traveling companions vomit out what appear to be their own hearts, and Lee later encounters a snake that’s crying while eating its own tail. I don’t know what it all means, but I enjoyed digesting the visual feast! (Perhaps someone more well-versed in the oeuvre of Burroughs can explain the symbolism to me.) All in all, Queer is a heartfelt, playful, and adventurous journey that could open up your heart and head a bit if you’re willing to let it in.

Queer is Recommended If You Like: Snazzy eyeglasses, Orpheus (1950), Sweat-stained faces

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Centipedes

Spring Cleaning 2024 Movie Review Round-Up

June 12, 2024

jmunney Cinema , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Amazon Prime Video

There are a handful of movies I saw in May that I haven’t shared any extended thoughts about yet, so here’s a Spring Cleaning-themed review roundup. Typically May is considered part of the summer movie season, but that leaves short shrift to the time of year when it actually is spring. If May 1-Labor Day is Summer Movie Season, and October-December is Fall Movie Season, and Thanksgiving-New Year’s is Holiday Movie Season, and January-February is Awards Holdovers/Winter Dumping Ground Season, well then, we really only March and April for Spring Movie Season, and a good chunk of March is spent fretting about the Oscars! So let’s give some love to the month with the best weather of the year (apologies to those of you with vernal allergies) and check in on the May spring movies.

More

‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’ and Makes a Pit Stop in Our Hearts

July 11, 2022

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (CREDIT: Dávid Lukács/© 2021 Ada Films Ltd – Harris Squared Kft)

Starring: Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, Ellen Thomas, Jason Isaacs

Director: Anthony Fabian

Running Time: 115 Minutes

Rating: PG for Rudeness and Arrogance

Release Date: July 15, 2022 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: The widowed Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) is generally happy with her life as a cleaning lady in 1950s London. But there’s one thing she’s always dreamed of doing: embark to the City of Lights so that she can purchase her very own Dior dress. When a series of fortunate events provide her with a windfall of quick cash, she takes the opportunity to make the fantasy come true. Alas, despite her ability to pay immediately at the point of purchase, she is sneered at by the snooty haute couture establishment. But she also wins over the more progressive elements under Dior’s employ and barrels over everyone else with her sheer indefatigability.

What Made an Impression?: A few years ago, Lesley Manville starred in another finely stitched-together fashion-centric film. That would be Phantom Thread, a movie that features remarkable craftsmanship but which I have no desire to ever see again because I found it so profoundly unpleasant. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, on the other hand, is worthy of a rewatch, as it is charming from beginning to end, no matter how much anybody tries to beat that out of it. And it’s a good thing, too, because in the movie’s telling, she pretty much singlehandedly saves Dior from oblivion. I doubt that that’s historically accurate, but I kind of want it to be now.

In addition to getting fitted for her dress and saving an entire fashion house, Mrs. Harris also finds time to encourage a budding romance between a Dior employee (Lucas Bravo) and one of the models (Alba Baptista). It’s built on a foundation of existentialism and socialism, so that’s good to see. And, you might be wondering, is there also room for Mrs. Harris’ own love to blossom? Well, she does meet a fancy marquis (Lambert Wilson) who finds her adorable, and then there’s her friend Archie (Jason Isaacs) back home at the race track. She seems a little uncertain when it comes to affairs of the heart, though, but I suspect her late husband would be happy for her to give it a go, and you know what? I bet movie theater audiences would be as well. Oh well, I’m sure she’ll take it all at whatever speed she needs to for herself.

Anyway, in summary, preternaturally strong-willed characters like Mrs. Harris could easily become exhausting, but that’s not the case here, as Manville knows how to calibrate every one of her acting decisions just so.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is Recommended If You Like: Paying in full in cash, Getting your measurements taken, Discussing Sartre over dinner

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Dresses

This Is a Movie Review: In ‘Phantom Thread,’ Daniel Day-Lewis is a Master Dressmaker in Love with Routine

December 22, 2017

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , 2 Comments

CREDIT: Laurie Sparham/Focus Features

This review was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Running Time: 130 Minutes

Rating: R for More F Bombs Than Expected

Release Date: December 25, 2017 (Limited)

In the beginning of Phantom Thread, Reynolds Woodcock’s muse and lover Alma (Vicky Krieps) describes him as “the most difficult man.” Such a definitive claim could potentially set us up for disappointment, but if anything, it turns out to be a bit of an understatement. So then the issue could bethat the dialogue is too on-the-nose, but that is not a problem with a lead actor and a director as precise as Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson are. And that precision is really what this film is about. The story of a dressmaker, no matter how legendary, strikes me as a rather niche attraction, but it should be known that Phantom Thread is primarily the (love?) story of two stubborn people butting up against each other.

If you are a fan of P.T. Anderson, or cinema in general, but do not have strong feelings towards fashion, you might be comforted to know that the focus is on the relationships. But you may soon find yourself discomforted by how discordant those relationships are. Or you might find all that hilarious. This is definitely an example of the rarely seen prestige cringe comedy, and I cringed more than I guffawed, though I appreciated the craft and the crack comic timing.

The setting is 1950s London, but due to the lack of electric devices in Reynolds Woodcock’s house, it feels like it could be decades earlier. Reynolds and the waitress Alma are quite smitten with each other, so he takes her into his home as his muse, in-house model, and soon enough, lover. Cyril (Lesley Manville), his sister and assistant, is on hand to make sure everything remains in tip-top shape in the wake of this new arrival. While at first there appears to be a genuine spark between Reynolds and Alma, it does not take long for there to be troubling signs. He casually drops some remarks about her imperfections, while she surprisingly enough has the gumption to give as good as she gets. But instead of maintaining her dignity, this results in the two of them butting up against each other with their shared obstinacy. Yet she manipulates him towards marriage, while I quietly scream that they need to cut their losses and run away from each other.

This definitely falls into the category of films I admire but do not particularly enjoy. The characters are marvelously realized, but too bullheaded to be pleasant for any extended period. I think that intimate exposure of imperfections is the point, and there is certainly a lot of room to appreciate that, but preferably from a safe distance.

Phantom Thread is Recommended If You Like: The Devil Wears Prada, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Witnessing the painstaking creative process

Grade: 3.75 out of 5 Measurements