Swoon (1992): Queer Desire, a Murder Plot, and One Damn Cold Love Story
Two brilliant young men, a disturbing crime, and a twisted love story set in 1920s Chicago. Swoon reimagines the Leopold and Loeb case through a bold, unapologetically queer lens — cold, stylish, and impossible to ignore.
Swoon doesn’t come to make you feel better. It doesn’t care about justice, comfort, or closure. This 1992 film dives straight into the twisted heart of a real-life crime: two young men, Leopold and Loeb — rich, brilliant, and dangerously self-absorbed — kidnap and kill a teenage boy. Not out of hate. Just because they could.
But director Tom Kalin isn’t interested in the crime itself. He’s here for the desire. For the power games, the repression, the obsession. This isn’t a whodunit. It’s a deep dive into a toxic love story wrapped in privilege, queerness, and self-delusion.
Leopold loves Loeb. Loeb loves control.
This is not your typical love story. Or maybe it is — just the kind that leaves bruises. Craig Chester and Daniel Schlachet don’t play their roles safe. Their dynamic is electric, manipulative, erotic, dangerous. And when a body drops, you’re not even sure what hurts more — the act itself, or the road that led there.
“Now I know you. Your doglike nature that adores being kicked… and all the more, the more it is maltreated.”
You don’t need to be a therapist to see how messed up this relationship is. But you do need the guts to watch it play out without blinking.
Black and white — like a verdict in Swoon (1992)
The film is shot in black and white, and it’s not just a style choice — it’s a statement. It looks stunning, yes, but also cold. Like crime scene photos with art direction. Beautiful and unsettling. Kalin doesn’t offer comfort — he lands punches to the gut, and they connect.
It doesn’t care if you like it
Swoon isn’t asking for your approval. It doesn’t want to be liked. That’s exactly what makes it essential queer cinema. Cold, direct, unapologetically queer and perversely honest. It doesn’t want to fit in — it wants to tell the truth, even when it’s ugly.
So, what’s left?
If you’re looking for a sweet, uplifting gay film — this ain’t it. But if you’re in the mood for something that stares back at you, pokes you where it hurts, and refuses to make anything easy — Swoon doesn’t just show up. It dares you to keep watching.
