The director detailed his ambitions around the William S. Burroughs novella while the actor known for playing James Bond praised the daring script.

Guadagnino, convinced Craig was right for the role, approached the actor with the script. In Craig, Guadagnino saw someone, he says, who was “open to play.” Within days, Craig, long an admirer of Guadagnino’s films, was in.

Still, the salty scent of sweat and the weight of unspoken yearning lingers in the atmosphere, waiting for a wholly committed Daniel Craig to saunter into the frame in a white linen suit to pick up where “Challengers” left off.

One of the first real signs that “Queer” is going to be an unconventional movie is when Daniel Craig in a linen suit saunters through Mexico City during the early ’50s and the soundtrack blasts a song by Nirvana.