Split conveniently into three chapters and an epilogue and based on another notoriously-difficult to-adapt William S. Burroughs novel, Daniel Craig plays William Lee, a dissolute older gay writer living in 1950s Mexico, who pursues his younger enigmatic object of desire (Drew Starkey's Eugene) as they navigate their fragile relationship that ultimately takes them on an ayahuasca-fuelled voyage of discovery in the jungles of Ecuador. As ever, Guadagnino creates a film that is richly atmospheric, intimate and in its own way romantic, maintaining Burroughs's psychedelic signature whilst at times feeling like a tribute to Visconti and Fassbinder. Justin Kuritzkes's screenplay is interesting, full of awkward conversation and blunt openness. Daniel Craig delivers a terrific character performance here, full of detail and idiosyncrasy, with Drew Starkey providing a good counter-balance in a more controlled and slightly unknowable role. The contemporary-styled soundtrack by Atticus/Ross adds good flavour to the richly-realised settings. The divisive trippy finale certainly brings some interesting imagery to the screen but adds little and veers the film a little too close to silliness, leading to an odd quasi-2001-style ending, but for the most part this is another boldy-realised and interesting Guadagnino film.
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