Q&A
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Q & A
Plot
Following Serpico (1973) and Prince of the City (1981), veteran urban crime film director Sidney Lumet completed a thematic trilogy about New York City police corruption with this noir drama. When New York City cop Mike Brennan (Nick Nolte) shoots an unarmed Hispanic drug dealer in cold blood, he quickly plants a gun on his victim and manufactures some eyewitness testimony. D.A. Kevin Quinn (Patrick O'Neal) calls in his assistant district attorney, Al Reilly (Timothy Hutton), to conduct a perfunctory investigation of the incident, but Brennan's obvious guilt during a question and answer session makes Reilly dig deeper. The crusading lawyer is soon uncovering a web of corruption that reaches from Brennan into Quinn's office. At the same time, Reilly learns that his ex-girlfriend Nancy Bosch (Jenny Lumet, the director's daughter), is now dating his chief witness, Puerto Rican drug dealer Bobby Texador (Armand Assante). Q&A (1990) was based on the novel by Edwin Torres, a New York State Supreme Court judge whose two other novels were later adapted into the film Carlito's Way (1993). Lumet would again return to the subject of New York's corrupt criminal justice system with Night Falls on Manhattan (1997). ~ Karl Williams, RoviReview
Sidney Lumet's occasionally powerful film on the ubiquity of racial strife and corruption in the N.Y.P.D. and the New York legal system features a tremendous performance by Nick Nolte, but is ultimately too sprawling and shapeless to have the impact he intended. Adapted from a novel by a New York assistant DA who went on to become a New York State Supreme Court Justice by a director who has made classic films about the corruption of the N.Y.P.D., it suffers less from a knowledge deficit than a bad script. Lumet may be a fine director, but in choosing to adapt this script himself, he seems to have forgotten that his best films were written by people like David Mamet, Paddy Chayefsky, and his longtime partner, Jay Presson Allen. The result is an overlong, overcomplicated, repetitious film with an unbelievably naïve protagonist whose laughably contrived erstwhile romance is a major subplot. Yet, in dwelling on the abject ugliness of the racial hostility, tribalism, cronyism, greed, and ruthlessness of this world, Lumet often hits a nerve, exposing truths which have been well-documented. Nolte's monster of a detective embodies the essence of these qualities, a man so consumed by rage that it seems he might kill anyone in any scene at any moment, and his sadistic pursuit of a hapless drag queen is something viewers may wish to forget. The wan passivity of Timothy Hutton's assistant DA may represent Lumet's fatalistic response toward a problem he has come to believe is intractable. Were it not for Nolte's awe-inspiring performance, the excellent work of Armand Assante and Charles S. Dutton would be more readily apparent. ~ Michael Costello, RoviCast
- Nick Nolte - Lieutenant Mike Brennan
- Timothy Hutton - Al Reilly
- Armand Assante - Bobby Texador
- Patrick O'Neal - Kevin Quinn
- Lee Richardson - Leo Bloomenfeld
Credit
Beth Kuhn - Art Director, Joy Todd - Casting, Burtt Harris - Co-producer, Arnon Milchan - Co-producer, Ann Roth - Costume Designer, Neil Spisak - Costume Designer, Sidney Lumet - Director, Richard P. Cirincione - Editor, Rubén Blades - Composer (Music Score), Carlos Franzetti - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ray Evans - Songwriter, Jay Livingston - Songwriter, Joe Burke - Songwriter, Joe Cranzano - Makeup, Tom Priestley Jr. - Camera Operator, Philip Rosenberg - Production Designer, Andrzej Bartkowiak - Cinematographer, Patrick Wachsberger - Producer, Gary J. Brink - Set Designer, Peter Odabashian - Sound Editor, Sidney Lumet - Screenwriter, Edwin Torres - Book Author| "Q" Ships (1928 Film), Péril en la Demeure (1985 Film) | |
| Q'ero: In Search of the Last Incas (1993 Film), Q'eros: The Shape of Survival (1979 Film) |
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Q&A (film)
| Q & A | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Sidney Lumet |
| Produced by | Burtt Harris Arnon Milchan |
| Written by | Sidney Lumet Edwin Torres (book) |
| Starring | Nick Nolte Timothy Hutton Armand Assante Luis Guzmán |
| Music by | Rubén Blades |
| Cinematography | Andrzej Bartkowiak |
| Editing by | Richard P. Cirincione |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 27, 1990 (USA) |
| Running time | 132 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6,000,000 |
Q & A is a 1990 crime film co-written and directed by Sidney Lumet, based on a novel by New York judge Edwin Torres. It stars Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton and Armand Assante.
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Contents
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Plot summary
Aloysius "Al" Reilly (Hutton) is a young assistant district attorney, still wet behind the ears. He is handed a case by homicide chief Kevin Quinn, an inquiry into a shooting by NYPD detective Mike Brennan (Nolte).
Brennan is something of a legend in the department. A tough, crude, decorated officer, he has a hidden dark side as well as a partnership with certain figures of organized crime. Brennan shoots and kills a small-time Puerto Rican hood and then threatens witnesses to testify that he acted in self-defense.
Reilly's case leads him to a Puerto Rican crime boss by the name of Roberto Texador (Assante), nicknamed "Bobby Tex," whose wife Nancy Bosch was once the love of Reilly's life. It results in violent confrontations between Texador, Reilly and the rogue cop Brennan.
Cast
- Nick Nolte as Lt. Mike Brennan
- Timothy Hutton as ADA Al Reilly
- Armand Assante as Texador
- Lee Richardson as Leo Bloomenfeld
- Patrick O'Neal as Kevin Quinn
- Jenny Lumet as Nancy Bosch
- Charles S. Dutton as Det. Chapman
- Luis Guzman as Det. Valentin
- Paul Calderón as Roger Montalvo
- Fyvush Finkel as Pearlstein
- Dominic Chianese as Pesch
Production
To prepare for his role in the film, Timothy Hutton went on squad-car runs with NYPD officers in order to get an idea of the challenges they faced on the streets. Hutton said, "in many cases the hands of the officer on the street are tied".[1] Nick Nolte put on 40 lbs. for the film because he felt that the character he played required it: "Just the sheer mass of brutality. I felt that would be the right kind of thing. He had to be on the edge of his own dissipation".[2]
Reception
Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "It is fascinating the way this movie works so well as a police thriller on one level, while on other levels it probes feelings we may keep secret even from ourselves".[3] In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote, "Great little scenes overshadow bigger, more important ones. Characters come and go at speed. Watching the movie is an entertaining ride, but when it is over it is difficult to remember where, exactly, one has been".[4] Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "Lumet tries to cram too much in ... But he's onto something, and you can sense his excitement. This is Lumet's boldest film in years -- a combustible drama with a vivid, shocking immediacy. The director is back at the top of his game".[5] In his review for the Washington Post, Hal Hinson praised Nick Nolte's performance: "This actor doesn't flinch in the least from his character's unsavoriness; instead he seems to glory in his crumpled suits and unwashed hair, as if they were a kind of spiritual corollary. Nolte gives Brennan a kind of monumental brutishness -- he makes him seem utterly indomitable".[6] USA Today gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "Overkill ultimately wears Q & A down, despite two bravura performances and some Hutton understatement that's adequate to the task. So, too, does unrelenting sordidness, a deadly love angle and a score (Ruben Blades) almost as awful as Cy Coleman's sabotage of Lumet's Family Business".[7] In his review for the Globe and Mail Rick Groen praised Armand Assante's performance: "in a role that could easily descend into cliche - the crook with a moral code - Assante does his best work to date, always keeping on the safe side of the stereotype".[8] Newsweek magazine's David Ansen wrote, "Nolte, with a big paunch and a walrus mustache, is a truly dangerous presence here; he uses his threatening body and a high, strained voice to stunning, scary effect. Like the movie, Nolte really gets in your face and, for a long time afterwards, sticks in you craw".[9] Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A-" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "Q & A is a major film by one of our finest mainstream directors. As both a portrait of modern-day corruption and an act of sheer storytelling bravura, it is not to be missed".[10]
References
- ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (April 13, 1990). "At the Movies". The New York Times: pp. 8.
- ^ Mitchell, Sean (April 26, 1990). "Nolte Gets Away with Murder". Toronto Star: pp. B1.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (April 27, 1990). "Q & A". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19900427/REVIEWS/71126001/1023. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (April 27, 1990). "Nick Nolte as a Corrupt Detective". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE3DF1031F934A15757C0A966958260&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ Travers, Peter (April 11, 2001). "Q & A". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5948379/review/5948380/q__a. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ Hinson, Hal (April 27, 1990). "Q & A". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/qarhinson_a0a968.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ Clark, Mike (April 27, 1990). "Forceful acting tries to answer a questionable script". USA Today: pp. 9D.
- ^ Groen, Rick (April 27, 1990). "Q&A". Globe and Mail.
- ^ Ansen, David (May 7, 1990). "The Melting Pot Boils Over". Newsweek: pp. 65.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (April 27, 1990). "Q&A". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,317225,00.html. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
External links
- Q&A at the Internet Movie Database
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