greeneugene77

[greeneugene77]

Queer (2024) dir. Luca Guadagnino

[greeneugene77]

When Eugene goes to Lee's apartment for the first time, he looks around and notices Lee's heroin kit.

His reaction to it is subtle, a slight furrow of his eyebrows, implying that he's probably realised what it is he's looking at. Heroin kits tend to look inconspicuous, it is not exactly something that would draw anyone's attention, unless they already know what one looks like. But before Eugene can really ponder the implications of it, Lee distracts him with the brandy.

A few minutes later, Eugene picks up one of the books from the coffee table, and Lee immediately springs into action, distracting Eugene from the book and inviting him to his bedroom. Said book is "Under the Volcano" by Malcolm Lowry, about an alcoholic man living in Mexico.

What these two instances show us is that Lee doesn't want Eugene to know about his history with addiction. At this point in his life Lee is completely off drugs, and his alcoholism is kinda manageable. Eugene tries to pry, but Lee won't let him.

Fast-forward to the South America trip, and Lee's behavior on the matter has made a complete 180.

Now back on drugs on the regular, he doesn't mind openly talking about, or doing drugs right in front of Eugene. He even sends Eugene to the pharmacy to get a bottle of paregoric for him.

For his part, Eugene seems... strangely fine with it? He's very playful with Lee around this time, which gives the impression that he's not taking the situation very seriously. My guess here is that Eugene probably hasn't caught on yet that Lee has an actual problem with drugs, and thinks this is just a fun once-in-a-while thing for him. Or maybe he has realised deep down, but doesn't want to acknowledge it, because doing so would mean having to deal with it as a real issue in their "relationship".

Then Lee gets junk sick, and his demeanor does a 180 all over again. Now he's deeply ashamed of his addiction. He cries when all Eugene manages to get him is a box of tums, but then immediately tries to pull himself back together.

This is also the point where Eugene can't just keep ignoring what is right in front of him. This isn't fun and games anymore, Lee needs help. Eugene's body language here is very interesting. Part of him is worried. Part of him is slightly disgusted. But more than anything else, his behavior screams to me "I have no idea how to deal with this". He doesn't know how to take care of someone, how to be a comforting and supportive presence for someone else. Still, he tries in whichever way he can. Because deep down he truly cares.

Later on, when the doctor asks Lee if he's addicted to opioids, there's a brief moment of hesitation where he turns to Eugene. Lee doesn't want to admit his addiction in front of him. Still, he sheepishly does so. Eugene reacts with a quiet, long stare at Lee while he's facing away from him in shame.

Normally, if it were any other "couple", this is what would prompt the inevitable conversation between them. Lee has shown one of the deepest parts of himself to Eugene, and Eugene in turn has acknowledged it. Now they need to figure out how to navigate this roadblock together...

But of course this is not at all what happens. Lee gets antihistamines to tone down the withdrawal symptoms, and then it's back to business as usual. No honest discussion. No resolution. Nothing.

[greeneugene77]

i filled up the space and made it messy yay.

[greeneugene77]

Why god why is he so bloody gorgeous I can't-

@loveisthedevil1998 We need to have a serious conversation about Queer-filming-area Drew. Like what on earth did Luca and Daniel do to this man??? Every photo/video of him from Rome, he has this glow to him that I feel he's never had before or after Queer... Was the spirit of Eugene Allerton possessing him or what!?

[greeneugene77]

Shower thought:

An animatic or video edit of the "Gay or European" meme with the Queer cast singing about Eugene...

[greeneugene77]

Ugh the once-over has been living in my head rent-free 24/7. Eugene definitely understood what Lee meant here, which is why he gets, like, sooo tense for a moment. He takes a deep breath and doesn't let it go until Lee gets more sexually explicit. Almost like he's relieved that Lee is fumbling it, because now he can easily pretend like there's nothing deeper going on between them.

On another note, Daniel plays such an adorable pathetically in love wet rat of a drunk in this scene, I get cuteness agression from him and wanna squeeze him all over every damn time 💖💖

in the BTS featurette for Queer, Drew says "I tried to keep under the surface and not emote, which was very tricky" — and it's cut together with a tiny clip of him during the "I want to talk to you without speaking" party scene. this makes me smile because that scene is one of my favorites in the movie particularly because Drew does SO MUCH with his microexpressions to really richly convey Allerton's inner self. let me explain, with gifs:

when Lee first approaches, Gene looks fond! happy! pleased to see him!!

this of course pairs very nicely with a quote from Luca, which speaks to the "game" Allerton is playing

and that cat-and-mouse dynamic becomes more clear with the next time Gene's face is shown, after Lee admits "I want to talk to you." without the context of what comes after, this would be huge for Allerton — because he's spent the past several days icing Lee out, ignoring him, so Lee getting drunk and chasing him down to talk is proof of the success of his game. he's won.

but of course just talking isn't Lee's goal. it's deeper for him, this admission that the Routine about yagé was/is more about connecting emotionally with Allerton than it is thought control. and the thing is — Allerton isn't totally bothered by that! it throws a wrench in things, as Lee is likely to do, and there are signs of discomfort, but he also gives Lee a really intense once-over like the thought turns him on? (I think part of that is that Allerton would be really pleased that he understood what Lee meant and Tom would have no idea. his DL nature...)

with the next part is really where it all falls apart. Lee makes the mistake of bringing Tom into the conversation fully, both by looking at him and using language he'd understand. it's the vulgar implication that Lee wants to have sex with him (and god forbid sex with him telepathically) that sends Allerton reeling. it's a nail in the coffin because to Allerton it makes that damn centipede rear its head and it makes what he's saying seem more nonsensical to the outside observer, which makes Allerton do this whole "sorry about my weird old dog's behavior; I don't know what the fuck he's talking about either" look

but then — and this shot will always be famous to me — the scene ends with this horrible look of concern in Allerton's eyes as Lee passes out. despite it all, he really does care and understand Lee. whether he wants to or not!

TLDR: THANK YOU DREW STARKEY FOR EMOTING!!!!!

[greeneugene77]

@animangacreators ♡ Challenge 32 Hotel Challenge - Make An Edit About An Anime With 12+ Episodes

[greeneugene77]

[greeneugene77]

an amoeboid protoplasmic projection / to breath with his lungs, see with his eyes, learn the feel of his viscera and genitals

[greeneugene77]

“I have loved you for the last time is it a video?”

[greeneugene77]

Eugene's underwear is lying on the floor next to his bed instead of being neatly placed with the rest of his clothes on the chair on the opposite side.

Which most likely means he had sex with Lee the previous night. Then immediately fell asleep. Then woke up. Had sex with Lee again. And then fell asleep again.

[greeneugene77]

i think about this part of the interview. It’s cute🐻

[greeneugene77]

at all times luca guadagnino’s queer is out to kill me btw

[greeneugene77]

Queer (2024) dir. Luca Guadagnino

[greeneugene77]

Before their first night together, every physical touch between Lee and Eugene is initiated by Eugene.

With only two exceptions:

Lee bumps into him by accident (?), and Eugene quickly puts some distance between them. And Lee is the one to initiate the handshake, but he patiently waits for Eugene to return it.

Eugene clearly feels that he needs a degree of control over their interactions in order to feel comfortable. He can touch Lee if he wants with no warning, but Lee is not allowed to do the same thing. When Lee lets Eugene make the choice, he reciprocates with ease. But when he gets too close unprompted, Eugene pulls away.

So imagine how Eugene must have felt when Lee did this:

The whole night he must have been grappling with so much fear, anxiety and disqust over what he knew was about to happen between them. It's his first experience with a man and he still hasn't sorted out his own internalised homophobia, in addition to his general fear of attachment. And in this moment, he loses his sense of control, and it's like a dam breaks.

Eugene throws up right after Lee touches him for the first time.

[greeneugene77]

“How’d you like to rub it from the INSIDE mouse boy?😼”

[greeneugene77]

Some Random Details I Love About Queer Part 2

At the very end of the opening credits, you can just faintly make out the second page of the Queer manuscript, where Burroughs crossed out any 3rd-person-perspective words (Lee, he, him etc) and replaced them with handwritten 1st-person-perspective ones (I, me, my etc), when repurposing the text for Junky.

There's some Ancient Egypt memorabilia scattered around Lee's apartment. Burroughs was also known for having a fascination with Ancient Egypt.

Eugene's green sweater bookends Lee's junk sickness.

Lee always sends Eugene to the pharmacy to get his drugs for him, probably because he fears they might clock him as an addict.

The references to Annexia, the fictional country Burroughs wrote in Naked Lunch.

The room where Lee sees Joan in the movie's first dream sequence, and the room where he sees Eugene in the final dream sequence, are one and the same. I like to think of it as the room where Lee sees the loved ones he has lost, but can never let go of. The centipede as a symbol of repression is also present in both scenes.

The hotel room hasn't changed at all decades later, when the surrounding landscape obviously has. The world has moved on, but Lee hasn't.