LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh has tremendous talent, and I have been a fan of hers for some time now. Although she has been the best part of many films, my favorite pictures of hers are SINGLE WHITE FEMALE and GEORGIA. The only bad performance I ever saw her give was in KANSAS CITY, and I blame that more on Robert Altman's direction than her acting.
So it was with heightened anticipation that I went to a special viewing of LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN (1989). Held as part of San Jose's Cinequest film festival, Leigh was there to answer questions after the movie. Luckily, I had never seen the film. At the of this review I have included some of the Leigh's comments on the picture.
(Earlier in the day at another film at the festival I looked at the woman sitting near me and reflected to myself, "Hmm, she looks like Jennifer Jason Leigh." I glanced again, and thought to myself, "That's because she IS Jennifer Jason Leigh!" I did not speak to her then, but I did ask her questions that night. For the record Leigh is 35 but looks like a very attractive young woman in her 20s. She is small, vivacious, funny, and outspoken. As she starts talking, she acts shy like someone who is still surprised at how successful she has become. As she warms up, she overpowers you.)
LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN is a movie about the absence of love. It paints a bleak picture of a world without hope. It is a study of what happens when a metaphorical black hole absorbs all the joy of life. Usually, when Hollywood attempts pictures like this, they end up sugarcoating them so much that their message is diluted. Here, director Ulrich Edel and screenwriter Desmond Nakano take Hubert Selby Jr.'s bleak novel and bring it to the screen without apology.
Set in 1952 Brooklyn, groups are full of hate. The heterosexuals hate and torment the homosexuals. The civilians hate and beat up the soldiers about to go off and fight in the Korean War. The prostitute's partners in crime mug her tricks. The union is out on strike and hates the employers and the police. Everyone is unhappy. Next to this show, Thomas Hardy was an optimist.
The sets are gritty and full of tacky furniture from the 1950s. The cinematography by Stefan Czapsky is dark and somber with heavy shadows in every scene. I am not sure that you would be able to see it very well on a television since the contrast is so low. The costumes by Carol Oditz are equally evocative of decay and, in the case of hooker Tralala (Jennifer Jason Leigh), sleaze. Mark Knopfler's ominous music takes place on the low registers with notes that are out slow and painful.
The show is multilayered and has a large cast. Although Tralala is the glue that holds the story together, many of the parts both large and small are particularly well done. Perhaps the best minuscule role is Ricki Lake's as the pregnant, single woman named Donna. She is so fat that her father does not realize she is pregnant until a couple of days before her water breaks. As her dad says, "She's so big -- Ringling Brothers has been circling around."
The best performance is Leigh's. She is convincing as a woman who has long since given up on life. She prides herself at being able to pick up tricks in a bar before the bartender can count to ten. She usually makes her money by not having sex. Her fellow criminals, led by Sal (Stephen Baldwin), sneak up when she is about to have sex. They knock out the soldier, for she preys almost exclusively on the military, and then take his money.
Baldwin gives a chilling performance as an amoral person who constantly harasses homosexual Georgette (Alexis Arquette). Sal views injuring Georgette as little more than sport. The film deals realistically and frighteningly with the problem of homophobic violence. In one scene Georgette is stabbed, and the blood spurts like an artery was punctured. Cinequest warned us in advance of the intensity of the picture, and they were right. There was a mother and her young teenage daughter in front of us that I was glad to see leave. They discovered that this was no movie for teenagers.
There is one optimistic person in the film. A soldier from Idaho named Steve (Frank Military) comes through on his way to the front. He believes he will never return, but he manages to find happiness in Tralala's arms. She never views him as anything more than a meal ticket, but he feel genuine love for her.
The other exceptional performance in the film is given by Stephen Lang as union organizer Harry Black. Harry is in charge of violence for the union. When he isn't busting heads, he discovers that he is gay and has an affair with one of Georgette's friends.
The ending centers around Tralala and is devastating. After the film, Leigh said that the incident was necessary and without it the film "would have been a cheat." This scene should have gotten an NC-17 rating for the picture. I believe in 1989 the only choices were R and X so given that perhaps the R rating it got was correct at the time.
After the ending, there is a brief epilogue. In it the first rays of hope shine through. Like the first sunshine after a hurricane, its warmth felt soothing and somehow tranquil.
After the film finished, Leigh answered questions about it. (She is a big flirt with an audience, and the audience loved her.) She said that she really wanted the part of Tralala, but Patricia Arquette was originally cast for it. When Patricia Arquette got pregnant, they gave the role to Leigh. She thinks this film was her big break.
Since she prides herself in elaborate preparation and research for her parts, I asked her how she approached the part of Tralala. She said that she hung out with prostitutes a lot, no surprise there, but then she went on to list a series of painters she studied. None of the names were familiar to me. Looking at paintings was not something I expected.
"It is showing you a world without love," she said when asked what the movie's message was. "It's crying out for love."
Leigh said the film was good for her since it forced her, for the first time, to get in touch with her feelings. It also made her realize how much she enjoyed being the source of attention.
One questioner from the audience said that many young actresses are forced to go topless in a couple of films in order to break into the business. He asked her what she thought of having to do nude roles. "I love it," she retorted. An actress with a lot of talent, and one not afraid of speaking her mind.
LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN runs 1:42. It is rated R for explicit and violent sex, nudity, graphic violence, dope smoking and profanity. The film is for adults and not for teenagers. Although granted the film will be too intense for some, I give it thumbs up and ***.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: January 31, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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