Francis Bacon – Dekkoo Blog | Gay Movies, Series & LGBTQ+ Entertainment

Love Is the Devil: The Daniel Craig Film That Showed a Different Side of the Future James Bond

Long before he became one of the most recognizable action stars in the world, Daniel Craig took on one of the boldest roles of his career in Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon.

Released in 1998, the film tells the story of legendary British painter Francis Bacon and his turbulent relationship with George Dyer, the man who became both Bacon’s muse and one of the defining figures in his artwork. Directed by John Maybury, Love Is the Devil is less a traditional biography and more an immersive journey into the emotional chaos, artistic obsession, and destructive passion that shaped Bacon’s life.

For viewers who know Craig primarily as James Bond, the film can be a startling discovery.

Daniel Craig Before Bond

Years before Casino Royale transformed him into an international superstar, Craig built a reputation by taking challenging and unconventional roles. In Love Is the Devil, he plays George Dyer, a small-time thief from London’s East End who becomes involved with Bacon after a chance encounter.

Craig’s performance is fearless. Dyer is vulnerable, volatile, charismatic, and increasingly tragic as the relationship spirals into emotional dependence and self-destruction. The role demanded a level of emotional exposure rarely seen in mainstream studio productions, and Craig fully commits to the character’s complexity.

The film is also notable for featuring full-frontal nudity from Craig, making it one of the most talked-about performances of his early career. Rather than feeling provocative for its own sake, the nudity serves the film’s raw and unflinching portrayal of intimacy, power, and vulnerability. It remains a striking reminder of the artistic risks Craig was willing to take before becoming a global franchise star.

Derek Jacobi as Francis Bacon and Daniel Craig as George Dyer in the LGBTQ+ drama Love Is the Devil.

A Queer Story Unlike Most Biopics

What makes Love Is the Devil stand apart from many LGBTQ+ films of its era is its refusal to soften its characters.

Francis Bacon, played brilliantly by Derek Jacobi, is neither hero nor villain. He is charismatic, cruel, brilliant, and deeply flawed. George Dyer is both victim and participant in a relationship marked by imbalance and emotional turmoil.

The result is a film that feels more like a living painting than a conventional drama. Scenes unfold with dreamlike intensity, often mirroring the distorted imagery found in Bacon’s artwork. Strange camera angles, warped visual effects, and unsettling sound design create an experience that places viewers directly inside the emotional landscape of the characters.

It’s challenging cinema, but also deeply rewarding.

Derek Jacobi’s Extraordinary Performance

While Craig’s role often attracts attention because of his later fame, Derek Jacobi delivers one of the finest performances of his career as Francis Bacon.

Jacobi captures the painter’s intelligence, wit, and cruelty while revealing the loneliness that lurks beneath his public persona. His chemistry with Craig forms the emotional center of the film, creating a relationship that feels both magnetic and impossible to escape.

Together, the two actors elevate the film beyond biography and into something far more psychologically complex.

Derek Jacobi stars as painter Francis Bacon in Love Is the Devil, the acclaimed LGBTQ+ biographical drama.

Why Love Is the Devil Still Matters

More than two decades after its release, Love Is the Devil remains a fascinating piece of queer cinema. It arrived during a period when LGBTQ+ stories were still rarely given artistic ambition or mainstream visibility. Rather than presenting a sanitized romance, the film embraces the contradictions and imperfections of its characters.

For audiences interested in queer film history, Daniel Craig’s early career, or unconventional biographical dramas, it remains an essential watch.

The film also serves as a reminder that some of the most memorable performances come long before actors become household names. Watching Craig in Love Is the Devil today offers a glimpse of the intensity and commitment that would eventually make him one of the defining actors of his generation.

Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig in Love Is the Devil, a biographical LGBTQ+ drama about the relationship between Francis Bacon and George Dyer.

Stream More Acclaimed LGBTQ+ Cinema on Dekkoo

If you’re looking to discover powerful LGBTQ+ stories from around the world, Dekkoo offers a curated collection of award-winning films, romantic dramas, exclusive originals, and hidden gems you won’t find on mainstream streaming services.

Explore more:

Whether you’re revisiting a cult classic like Love Is the Devil or discovering your next favorite LGBTQ+ film, there’s always something new waiting to be streamed on Dekkoo.

DEKKOO DISPATCH 032 – ‘FOLLOW ME’ AND ‘LOVE IS THE DEVIL’

Title – ‘Love Is The Devil‘

Director – John Maybury

Starring – Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton, Anne Lambton

Release Date – 1998

Title – ‘Follow Me‘

Director – Anthony Schatteman

Starring – Ezra Fieremans, Maarten Ketels, Lien Maes

Release Date – 2015

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“I feel ever so strongly that an artist must be nourished by his passions and his despairs. These things alter an artist whether for the good or the better or the worse. It must alter him. The feelings of desperation and unhappiness are more useful to an artist than the feeling of contentment, because desperation and unhappiness stretch your whole sensibility.”
-Francis Bacon

Well hey there and welcome to tortured-artist-Wednesday! Today we’ve got two movies that focus on angsty artists in love or at least lust.

‘Follow Me‘ is the short yet touching story of a young artist struggling to figure out if the man of his affections is also the man of his dreams. Shot in fragments we see Jasper honing his craft in the classroom and his studio, working in a bathhouse, following his teacher around town, and having sex with said teacher. The incredible score really elevates this quietly shot short film to transcendent heights and makes the mind wander through issues of love, homophobia, and loyalty. Plus it helps that both characters are superrrr cute.

Speaking of cute look which famous handsome man plays gay in ‘Love Is The Devil‘: DANIEL CRAIG! AHH! And he’s naked in it? Whoa.

But seriously ‘Love Is The Devil‘ is a heavy-duty bio-pic about Francis Bacon, a legendary British painter who scandalized the art world with his intense grotesquely sexual yet beautiful oil paintings paired with his well-known penchant for sleazy homosexual encounters with rough trade. Yes Francis Bacon was definitely a bottom and Derek Jacobi plays him fearlessly as a man who isn’t at all afraid of expressing his sexual depravity:

“When I went into the house of pleasure, I didn’t stay in the room where they celebrate acceptable modes of loving in the bourgeois style. I went into the rooms which are kept secret and I leaned and lay on their beds. I went into the rooms which are kept secret which they consider it shameful even to name. But there is no such shame for me because then, what sort of poet, and what sort of artist would I be?”
-Francis Bacon, ‘Love Is The Devil’

So where does Daniel Craig feature in all this artsy-fartsy sexual psychodrama? Well he plays Bacon’s lover naturally. Late one night Francis discovers a man trying to rob him. That man turns out to be George Dyer, a working-class Brit and after a proposition of coming to his bed for ‘whatever he wants’ they become inseparable. Great way to meet a lover right? Well, that story is actually a myth, dreamt of by Bacon, but why not? It’s a better story than meeting in a pub which is where they actually did meet in real life. Dyer went on to become a muse for Francis and modeled for him several times.

The visuals in this movie are incredible! One of the coolest set-pieces is Francis Bacon’s studio. They actually re-created it inch-by-inch. It looks incredibly similar to the real-life studio. Also of note are the camera techniques to re-create Bacon-esque moving images. Also if all of that didn’t entirely convince you we’re also offering TILDA SWINTON! She’s great in it as always 🙂

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Watch ’em with: Your muse.

Mix it with: The classic drink of tortured artists – Absinthe.

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New This Week – 8/18/17

Writer-director John Maybury’s ‘Love is the Devil‘ offers a searing portrait of English painter Francis Bacon (Derek Jacobi). The film focuses on his tumultuous relationship with George Dyer (Daniel Craig), a younger small-time thief who Bacon treats as both rough trade and the ultimate artistic muse.

Torn between two loves, a young man struggles to understand and accept his own desire. Watch ‘Amias’ now on Dekkoo!

The worlds of a former neo-Nazi and the gay victim of his senseless hate crime attack collide by chance 25 years after the incident that dramatically shaped both of their lives. They proceed to embark on a journey of forgiveness that challenges both to grapple with their beliefs and fears, eventually leading to an improbable collaboration…and friendship. ‘Facing Fear‘ was a nominee for the 86th Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Short Subject category.

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Coming next week: An achingly romantic new indie from a Filipino auteur!