Missive from Venice — What Were the Queer (and Queer Adjacent) Films?
The 81st Venice International Film Festival did not boast many queer films besides the obviously titled, highly-anticipated "Queer," an extraordinary Norwegian film, "Love," and a disturbing Italian movie, "Labyrinths."
There were, however, several queer-friendly and queer-adjacent offerings featuring queer artists (out filmmakers Pedro
Almodóvar and Pablo Larraín) and gay icons such as Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Tilda Swinton.
For those looking for off-screen drama, there was little to be had. Even Joaquin Phoenix behaved and deferred commenting on his withdrawal from Todd Haynes' gay-explicit film just five days before filming. Kevin Costner didn't complain too much about the poor reception to his "Horizon" sequel and its being bypassed for theatrical release. There was no Pitt-Jolie confrontation. (Brad and Angelina's films were carefully programmed two days apart.)
There was a lot of glamour on the red carpet and wild paparazzi screaming at celebs as they arrived via vaporetti (water taxis), from the above-mentioned divas to Cate Blanchett to Catherine O'Hara to Clooney and Pitt to Daniel Craig.
As always, a host of Italian films could easily be tagged homoerotic, despite the fact that those filmmakers were still too afraid to take the next step with their characters ("The Story of Frank and Nina," "Familia," "Campo di battaglia," "Diciannove").
Here are some of the most significant of the Queer and Queerish titles.
'Love'
Norwegian helmer Dag Johan Haugerud has created a thought-provoking, mesmerizing queer-and-sex-positive gem with his fourth feature, "Love."
This is the second film in a trilogy. The first, "Sex," was part of the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, and was about a married straight man who has sex with another man. "Dreams," the final film, will open in 2025.
Set in Oslo in the month of August, the film follows two separate healthcare workers, Marianne (Andrea Bræin Hovig), a urologist, and Tor (super-sexy Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen), a gay male nurse she works with. They spend their days talking prostate cancer patients through treatment options and their nights searching for some kind of intimacy. Okay, that sounds like the plot to "Looking for Mr. Goodbar." It's not. At all.
Marianne is not looking for marriage, but has met a seemingly nice, recently divorced geologist, Ole (Thomas Gullestad), thanks to her slightly-flighty bestie, Heidi (Marte Engebrigtsen, excellent). Tor is an unashamedly sexual being, proud of his many sexual encounters and not looking for a relationship (or so he says). One day, riding the ferry, Tor shares his feelings about casual sex with Marianne, who is very intrigued and, a bit later, finds herself having sex with a stranger and wholly enjoying it.
After a non-sexual ferry encounter with an older psychologist, Bjorn (Lars Jacob Holm, heartbreaking), Tor finds himself intrigued by the man and begins to pursue him.
Hovig and Jacobsen are both terrific. They create an authentic bond between Marianne and Tor.
The film is audacious in its non-judgmental approach to different kinds of intimacy. One man's sexual permissiveness (and even that word has negative connotations) is seen as being as good and pure as another person's simply wanting to find someone to love.
'Queer'
Already quite divisive (and what Luca Guadagnino film isn't?), "Queer" is bound to spark many social media arguments, from its sheared running time, to its (rather tame) depiction of gay sex onscreen, to its predominant straight-actor cast, to its trippy slow burn narrative.
Based on the Beat generation novella by William S. Burroughs ("Junkie," "Naked Lunch"), and written in the early '50s but not published until 1985, "Queer" is at once fascinating and frustrating. The screenplay is by "Challengers" scribe Justin Kuritzkes, and the first half remains fairly faithful to Burroughs until detouring to Ecuador.
Set in Mexico City, the super-thin plot centers on gay American expat Lee (Daniel Craig), who spends his days and nights excessively drinking, shooting up heroin, and hitting on young men. Lee becomes enamored with ex-Navy serviceman Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), who is initially blasé but gives in to Lee's seduction. But is he queer?
A lunatic trip to South America breathes bizarro energy into the lethargic narrative as Lee goes in search of a plant-based psychedelic called yage, which Lee believes will give him the power of telepathy. Enter the fabulous Lesley Manville, stealing all her scenes as a peculiar jungle doctor.
"Queer" is transfixing, yet alienating, and works mostly thanks to Craig diving into Lee fearlessly and unabashedly. In many respects his character is a true queer trailblazer, considering the time period. And Craig is simply heartbreaking in the final quarter.
In terms of the gay sex in the film (and much is already being written about it), it's all quite tame, certainly compared to films like Ira Sach's "Passages." Guadagnino likes to tease and then cut away (the repressed Italian-Catholic way). And the one actual intercourse scene felt more perfunctory than erotic.
'Labirinti' ('Labyrinths')
Set in a small village in the mountains of Calabria, Italy, Giulio Donato's potent feature, "Labyrinths," explores the pressures of fitting in and eschewing individuality, especially in small towns where everyone knows your business.
Francesco (outstanding newcomer Francesco Grillo) is an introverted teen who longs to leave the clutches of his suffocating locale and move to Rome to study. His best friend Mimmo (Simone Iorgi) has no such desire, and doesn't understand why Francesco isn't as complacent as he should be.
Francesco's dreams are galvanized by a book he discovers that allows him to be himself. Alas, the small-town mindset can often lead to ignorance that begets violence.
Donato creates a rather experimental work that blends harsh reality with hopeful, if cautious, fantasy and spans a number of years (with scenes set in August, during the Feast of San Francisco da Paola). He also does his best to not judge his characters, even when they behave abominably.
Having experienced both the joy and love — as well as the repression and forced social dynamics — inherent in the southern Italian culture (my family is from both Calabria and Sicily), I can attest to the fact that being different (and by different I mean queer) can have harsh repercussions. It's risky to express your gay identity, especially for guys, and anyone doing so can expect to be ostracized. Donato captures this perfectly, especially in one scene where Francesco has returned from studying in Rome and is accosted by his former classmates, who accuse him of being a riccione ("faggot"). When he admits he is, their reaction is sadly typical.
So much still needs to change in so many parts of the world, which is why films like "Labyrinths" are vital.
This film was part of the Venice Days Indie Section. In Italian and Sicilian with English subtitles.
'Joker: Folie à Deux'
Do yourself a favor and don't go to see "Joker: Folie à Deux" if you're expecting any kind of Joker incarnation you have seen before. This film defies expectation by holding up a mirror to where we are as a society right now. Yes, it's grim and bleak. It's also fucking brilliant.
Writer-director Todd Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver have delivered a raw, emotional, highly ambitious, and unique cinematic ride. And it's a musical!
Set two years after the original film, in which he murdered six people, an emaciated, over-medicated, and soul-sucked Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is in a psychiatric prison awaiting trial and being bullied by his guards. Outside, his Joker persona has become a media sensation. In prison, he meets Lee (Lady Gaga), a.k.a. Harley Quinn. They instantly bond. It's obvious she is a "fan," and she believes in him — well, she believes in Joker.
Fleck's lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), is busy mounting a split personality defense. Basically, Fleck committed those heinous acts because of the horrific trauma he experienced as a child. Lee is not having it. She wants him to proudly stand tall as a vigilante hero.
Fleck's emotional journey — and Lee's — are expressed through a host of keen and clever musical moments, many quite sad and poignant, some rousing and ebullient. From "Get Happy" to "We're Gonna Build a Mountain" to "If My Friends Could See Me Now" to "That's Entertainment," each song is reinterpreted from its original film musical usage to convey something darker, deeper, more pained, more human.
Phoenix is masterful, and he and Gaga make an awesome screen team. She is sublime. Het role is smaller than expected, but she makes the most of it and delivers her best screen performance to date.
In the end, as grim as "Joker" can be, it also leaves room for redemption, which might come in a third installment if audiences stop listening to the naysayers and show up.
'The Room Next Door'
In "The Room Next Door," Pedro Almodóvar's turns his gay sensibilities to a story about a deep friendship between two women and how they show one another just how much they cherish that friendship.
Adapted from segments of Sigrid Nunez's novel "What Are You Going Through," the film tells the story of two successful authors. Ingrid (Julianne Moore), is at a book signing when she is told that her estranged friend, Martha (Tilda Swinton), a former war correspondent, is losing a battle with cancer. Ingrid rushes to her side, and the two rekindle their bond — and it grows even deeper.
Martha's condition is grave, and even a new experimental treatment cannot help her. She has decided to end her life, via a pill she's purchased on the dark web, and she wants Martha to be in the room next door when she does it.
There are none of the expected Almodovar twists and turns here. The story is quite simple, and strangely transcendent.
Moore is radiant in a performance rich with compassion and understanding.
Swinton is gloriously complex, horrified that she's out of options, yet determined to do things on her terms. It's a raw, naked turn that deserves Oscar attention.
The film's score, cinematography, production, and costume design are all terrific, as is the norm in an Almodóvar película.
The script, by Almodóvar and Sigrid Nunez, is reminiscent of certain Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen narratives in that those auteurs were constantly exploring themes of death.
Almodovar continues to be one of the few male directors interested in exploring multifaceted women onscreen. He's a true gift to cinema.
'Babygirl'
Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn ("Bodies Bodies Bodies") has crafted an uber-sexy dark comedy that challenges our idea about sexual power and female gratification.
Romy (Nicole Kidman) is a well-respected CEO whom others look up to. She's married to Jakob (Antonio Banderas), who doesn't fully sexually satisfy her. Otherwise, they're happily married.
One day at work, Romy is taken with Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a hot 'n' cocky young intern. Before you can say water cooler, they're having intense sex, where she is able to live out some power-shifting fantasies. But what of her family?
Kidman has been making edgy and daring choices for most of her career. This is no exception. Her Romy is so repressed and shameful, yet so eager to explore the erotic and taboo. It's fearless, award-worthy work.
Dickinson, a total honorary gay thanks to "Beach Rats" and "Postcards from London," charms the fuck out of both Kidman and the audience. He's a star on a meteoric rise.
One of the best things about "Babygirl" is how, unlike past films (like "Fatal Attraction," "Unfaithful," "Basic Instinct") and the subsequent rip-offs of those films, this one did not feel the necessity to judge or punish the female lead or turn her into a raging psycho because of her unorthodox sexual desires.
The film asks if it's possible to make peace with the sexual deviant in ourselves without shame and judgment, an intriguing question to which "Babygirl," keenly, only hints at an answer.
'Maria'
Angelina Jolie is truly beguiling as the great soprano Maria Callas in Chilean helmer Pablo Larraín's gorgeous, haunting, but somewhat cold film, "Maria." Jolie will receive her third acting Oscar nomination, her first since starring in Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" in 2009. It's that kind of performance.
Set in Paris in the last week of the diva's life, the film chronicles her desire for a comeback, only to realize that her voice is not what it used to be. She's haunted by her simultaneous euphoric and tragic past.
"I'm in the mood for adulation," she says, announcing her decision to eat outdoors, which reminded me of Sally Field's "Soapdish" visit to the mall with Whoopi Goldberg.
The script (by "Spencer" writer Steven Knight) never ventures far enough into who this woman was. But when Jolie is onscreen, especially when she's performing — with vocals by Callas, but interpreted by the actor — the experience is mesmeric.
The film needed more camp, more humor, and less Greek tragedy.
I also, would be remiss if I did not recommend Brady Corbet's towering cinematic achievement, "The Brutalist."