A step behind of “Call Me By Your Name.”

Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” is based on William S. Burroughs’ book about William Lee, a writer and heroin addict, who fled to Mexico City after a drug bust. We also see him as a gay man reeling young men in, although in real life, it’s mentioned that Burroughs never came out as a gay man, but was labeled a queer figure.

This is Guadagnino’s first gay film since “Call Me By Your Name,” which was a masterpiece in terms of his scope and humanity within his leads Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer. And I was delighted to hear two friends of mine talking about it the other day.

And being an A24 movie, we get a number of hallucinations, some of them involve disembodied parts, organs, and a passionate scene that’s more complex than how I’m describing it for the sake of spoiler alerts.

So a combination of both elements could work, but “Queer” seems to be too indulged on both sides, that it’s difficult to acknowledge the point of it all. Yes, we get some beautiful shots and terrific work from the leading man Daniel Craig. Not every movie has to be exactly like “Call Me By Your Name.” They can take different approaches. I get that. But this film didn’t grab me the way that film did.

The time is the late 40s, and we see Lee (Craig) wearing a white shirt and beige pants, sometimes even a hat like he’s a detective on vacation. We also get modern songs from the likes of Sinead O’Connor, Nirvana, and Prince, so it likes to be partly like a Baz Luhrmann movie. Some of those scenes with those songs are moving slowly, I guess to give the movie more style. And somewhere around there, we see him falling in love with a discharged Navy serviceman named Eugene Allerton (Drew Starsky).

Among the supporting cast, there’s Jason Schwartzmann as Lee’s friend Joe, who is also gay and looks almost unrecognizable with his beard and fat appearance. He almost looks like he’s going as Zach Galifianakis at a costume party.

And Lesley Manville plays the botanist Dr. Cotter, who lives with the natives in a jungle. Lee and Eugene venture in there to seek help from her regarding a special drug. And before they meet her, these two men have to try to avoid a snake like cartoon characters, as they both back up on their bottoms. Now, this part looks fun, but I’m not sure where the movie was supposed to go with this subplot.

“Queer” captures the 40s style and WTF formulas with beautiful cinematography by Guadagnino collaborator Sayombhu Mukdeeprom. It all looks fascinating, I like how the modern music keeps things classy without being so obvious, and Craig and Starsky both deliver with the right ambiance. You’re able to see how they connect and disconnect from one another.

But the screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes doesn’t compare with his and Guadagnino’s other film this year “Challengers.” That was a movie that took a completely different approach to the tennis movie genre. I’ve never read Burrough’s book,” but it seems to make “Queer” an entry in A24’s filmography with more looks and less consistency. It ends up upstaging the characters and their directions.

I saw this movie a few weeks ago, and I needed some time to process my emotions about this movie, which is well-intended but misguided. And I know for a fact that Guadagnino is a brilliant and fearless filmmaker who won’t bore you. I would suggest you either go back to “Call Me By Your Name” or “Challengers.”

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