Themes: Labor Unions, Prostitutes, Inner City Blues
Main Cast: Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Burt Young, Peter Dobson, Jerry Orbach
Release Year: 1990
Country: WG/US/DE
Run Time: 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Hubert Selby's controversial 1964 cult novel Last Exit To Brooklyn is adapted to the big screen by director Ulrich Edel in this drama. The story is set in the early 1950s in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a blighted waterfront town of boarded-up storefronts and striking factory workers. Harry Black (Stephen Lang), a machinist put in charge of the local union strike office, suddenly finds himself one of the most important men in town. But for all his sudden power, there's something disturbing Harry. He rejects his wife's caresses and discovers himself infatuated with a frail young man who calls himself Georgette (Alexis Arquette), who has a crush on well-muscled hood Vinnie (Peter Dobson). But Harry doesn't confront his problem head-on until he falls head-over-heels in love with Regina (Zette), a local transvestite. As the strike becomes more intense, Harry sinks deeper into an obsessive affair with Regina, using the strike fund to shower him/her with personal gifts. As Harry sinks into obsession, other characters float through the decaying streets. There's the attractive prostitute Tralala (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who falls in love with a sailor about to be shipped overseas. There is also an agreeable young man named Tommy (John Costelloe) who is beaten by his soon-to-be father-in-law Big Joe (Burt Young) for making his daughter Donna (Ricki Lake) pregnant. Everything comes to a tragic conclusion as the workers' strike escalates into a violent confrontation. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Although it features crime of only the most petty sort -- drugs, prostitution, and civil disobedience -- this stylish, haunting drama is as noirish as they come. Discontentment and desperation hound these characters like a hot summer wind, while their sexual obsessions almost invariably lead to ruin. Occasional glimpses of working-class joy and humor balance out the grimness of the main story line; even when they're forced, such as the scenes involving Ricki Lake's knocked-up Donna, they give the film a richer emotional palette than it would otherwise have. Many of these lighter scenes are the invention of the production team, who took some liberties with their dark source material. For instance, Spook (Cameron Johann), the shy teenager whose crush on prostitute Tralala (Jennifer Jason Leigh) serves as the film's symbol for innocence, did not appear in Hubert Selby's original novel. Literary purists may therefore find fault with the film; general audiences, meanwhile, may have trouble with its gloominess. Those who can stomach the material, however, will enjoy director Uli Edel's deft balance of brutality and pathos, cinematographer Stefan Czapsky's vivid hues, and the strong performances of everyone from Leigh and Alexis Arquette to Jerry Orbach and Stephen Baldwin. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Alexis Arquette - Georgette; Stephen Baldwin - Sal; Cameron Johann - Spook; Rick Aiello; Rutanya Alda - Georgette's Mother; Jason Andrews - Tony; Daniel Beer - Tral's Trick; Mark Boone, Jr. - Willie; Joseph Carberry - Uptown Bartender; John Costelloe - Tommy; Christopher Curry - Riot Police Officer; Maia Danziger - Mary Black; Colleen Flynn - Ruthie; Ray Gill - Dowland; James Harper - Cop; Robert Kramer - Fred; Ricki Lake - Donna; James Lorinz - Freddy; Frank Military - Steve; Christopher Murney - Paulie; Michael O'Hare - Riot Police Officer; Lisa Passero - Teresa; Hubert Rechy - Hit-Run Driver; Sam Rockwell - Al; Camille Saviola - Ella; Al Shannon; Bruce Smolanoff - Lost Soldier; Sylvie Spector - Submarine Annie; Mike Starr - Security Guard; Frank Vincent - Priest; David Warshofsky; Robert Weil - Alex; Zette - Regina; Hubert Selby, Jr. - Hit-Run Driver; Bob Martana - Truck Driver
Credit
Mark Haack - Art Director, Carol Oditz - Costume Designer, Uli Edel - Director, Peter Przygodda - Editor, Mark Knopfler - Composer (Music Score), Kathryn Bihr - Makeup, Stefan Czapsky - Cinematographer, Bernd Eichinger - Producer, Herman Weigel - Producer, Desmond Nakano - Screenwriter, Hubert Selby, Jr. - Book Author
Last exit to Brooklyn is about the harsh lives of lower class characters living in Brooklyn in the 1950s.
Production
There had been several attempts to adapt Last Exit to Brooklyn into a film. One of the earliest attempts was made by producer Steve Krantz and animator Ralph Bakshi, who wanted to direct a live-action film based on the novel. Bakshi had sought out the rights to the novel after completing Heavy Traffic, a film which shared many themes with Selby's novel. Selby agreed to the adaptation and actor Robert De Niro accepted the role of Harry in Strike. According to Bakshi, "the whole thing fell apart when Krantz and I had a falling out over past business. It was a disappointment to me and Selby. Selby and I tried a few other screenplays after that on other subjects, but I could not shake Last Exit from my mind."[1]
In 1989, directorUli Edel adapted the novel into a film. The screenplay was written by Desmond Nakano. The movie starred Stephen Lang as Harry Black, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Tralala, Burt Young as Big Joe, Peter Dobson as Vinnie, and Jerry Orbach as Boyce, as well as Stephen Baldwin, Rutanya Alda and future star Sam Rockwell in small roles. Selby made a cameo appearance in the film as the taxi driver who accidentally hits the transvestite Georgette (played by Alexis Arquette). Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits provided the film score. The film version received excellent reviews and won a few critics' awards for Leigh's portrayal of Tralala, though its limited distribution and downbeat subject matter prevented it from becoming a commercial success. Ralph Bakshi referred to Edel's film as being "like a hot dog without mustard," saying that the film "was done horribly."[1]
