4. Last Exit To Brooklyn (1989)
Hubert Selby's controversial book, which was the subject of an important obscenity trial in Britain, is adapted for the screen by Uli Edel with extremely harrowing results as various characters self destruct with considerable aplomb. Strictly for adults, Last Exit to Brooklyn has a dark atmosphere with violence always simmering below the surface, just dying for release. Set against a large union strike in 1950s Brooklyn, we are introduced to some memorable characters. There is Tra La La (played with gusto by Jennifer Jason Leigh) a two bit hooker/hustler who hangs around in dive bars looking for tricks among the sailors. A taste of genuine affection turns this hard nosed slut into a drunken whore willing to have sex with every man in the bar in a horrific free for all gang bang that destroys her. Harry the union rep regularly rapes his wife (and they have a baby together). He gives into his latent homosexual urges and hangs out with transvestite prostitutes. By the end of the film he is a pathetic, drunken, sleazy pederast who accosts young boys in the street and gets the absolute crap beaten out of him for these sleazy antics. Georgette (magnificently portrayed by Alexis Arquette) is a teenage transexual whose older brother has a particularly vehement dislike of his lifestyle and terrorises him. He gets hooked on heroin and meets a tragic end as he is mown down by a car. The acting in the film is first rate but it is not an easy movie to sit through due to the amount of personal tragedy in the film. And as for it being harrowing, could you really expect something different from the Director of Christiane F? I have read Selby's book. It is not an easy book to read because it does not have a traditional narrative. Edel did a fantastic job in translating the book onto screen. Most directors would have just scratched their heads at the book and walked away from it. Edel produced a dark masterpiece which deserves more recognition than it currently has.