''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' is a 1989

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Uli Edel Ulrich "Uli" Edel (; born 11 April 1947) is a German film and television director, best known for his work on films such as Last Exit to Brooklyn (film), ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' and ''Body of Evidence (1993 film), Body of Evidence.'' His ''Ra ...

and adapted by

Desmond Nakano Desmond Nakano (born 1953) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is Sansei, or third-generation Japanese American. He directed the feature films, ''White Man's Burden (film), White Man's Burden'' (1995) and ''American Pastime (film), ...

from

Hubert Selby Jr. Hubert "Cubby" Selby Jr. (July 23, 1928 – April 26, 2004) was an American writer. Two of his novels, ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' (1964) and ''Requiem for a Dream'' (1978) explore worlds in the New York area and were adapted as films, both of whi ...

's 1964 novel of the same title. The film is an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companies ...

between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the UK, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The story is set in 1950s Brooklyn and takes place against the backdrop of a

labor strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the I ...

. It follows interlocking storylines among the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

underbelly of the Red Hook neighborhood, including

unionized A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

workers,

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is d ...

s, and

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

Plot

In 1952 Brooklyn, workers have entered the sixth month of a

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

against the local factory.

Shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

Harry Black relishes his new role as the strike secretary as it allows him to get out of the house, away from his wife who does not realize that Harry is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. Boyce, the union leader, tries to negotiate between the factory and union representatives. Meanwhile, Tralala is a prostitute who lures unsuspecting sailors out to a vacant lot to be robbed by Vinnie, an ex-convict and Tralala's

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

. Georgette is a young

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

woman who harbors a crush on Vinnie. Big Joe, one of the striking workers, struggles with accepting his daughter's out of wedlock pregnancy and embracing his future son-in-law. Harry meets Regina, another transgender woman, and falls in love with her. Tralala also meets a kindly sailor in Manhattan who appears to truly love her and lets her move in with him. Both romances end on a tragic note for Harry and Tralala.

Cast

Stephen Lang Stephen Lang (born July 11, 1952) is an American actor. He is known for roles in films including '' Manhunter'' (1986), '' Gettysburg'', '' Tombstone'' (both 1993), '' Gods and Generals'' (2003), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), ''Conan the Barbaria ...

as Harry Black *

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She ...

as Tralala *

Burt Young Gerald Tommaso DeLouise (born April 30, 1940), known professionally as Burt Young, is an American actor, author and painter. He played Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the ''Rocky'' film series. He was nominated for ...

as Big Joe *

Peter Dobson Peter Dobson (born July 19, 1964) is an American actor. His film roles include appearances in '' Sing'' (1989), ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' (1989), ''The Marrying Man'' (1991), ''The Frighteners'' (1996), and ''Drowning Mona'' (2000), in addition t ...

as Vinnie *

Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...

as Boyce *

Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor, producer and director. He has appeared in the films ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Posse'' (1993), ''8 Seconds'' (1994), ''Threesome'' (1994), ''The Usual Suspects'' (19 ...

as Sal * Jason Andrews as Tony * James Lorinz as Freddy *

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

as Al * Maia Danziger as Mary Black *

Camille Saviola Camille Saviola (July 16, 1950 – October 28, 2021) was an American actress and singer. She appeared in numerous films, television series, plays and musicals. Early life Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York (state), New Yor ...

as Ella *

Ricki Lake Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She is known for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film ''Hairspray'', for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Be ...

as Donna * Cameron Johann as Spook * John Costelloe as Tommy *

Christopher Murney Christopher Murney (born July 20, 1943) is an American actor and voice artist. Early life and education Murney was born in Narragansett, Rhode Island. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Fine Arts in ...

as Paulie *

Alexis Arquette Alexis Arquette (born Robert Arquette; July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016) was an American actress. Early life Arquette was born in Los Angeles, the fourth of five children of Lewis Arquette, an actor and director, and Brenda Olivia "Mardi ...

as Georgette * Zette as Regina *

Mark Boone Junior Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...

as Willie *

Rutanya Alda Rutanya Alda (born Rūta Skrastiņa; October 13, 1942) is a Latvian-American actress. She began her career in the late 1960s, and went on to have supporting parts in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), ''Rocky II'' (1979), and ''Mommie Dearest'' (1981). S ...

as Georgette's mother

Production

Development

There had been several attempts to adapt ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' into a film since the controversial book's 1964 publication. One of the earliest attempts was made by producer

Steve Krantz Stephen Falk Krantz (May 20, 1923 – January 4, 2007) was a film producer and writer, most active from 1966 to 1996. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Krantz graduated from Columbia University and went on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Fo ...

and animator

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

, 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 ''Heavy Traffic'' is a 1973 American live-action/animated drama film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film, which begins, ends, and occasionally combines with live-action, explores the often surreal fantasies of a young New York City ...

'', a film which shared many themes with Selby's novel. Selby agreed to the adaptation, and actor

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

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." An adaptation was also considered by

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

and

Brian de Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...

at one point. German producer

Bernd Eichinger Bernd Eichinger (; 11 April 194924 January 2011) was a German film producer, director, and screenwriter. Life and career Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s and bou ...

and director

had been wanting to adapt the novel for 20 years, with the latter having first discovered the novel as a university student. The two filmmakers obtained the rights to Selby's novel in the mid-1980s after Edel's success with the film ''

Christiane F Christiane Vera Felscherinow (born 20 May 1962) is a German actress and musician who is best known for her contribution to the 1978 autobiographical book ''Christiane F.'' (original title: ), and the film and television miniseries based on the ...

''. One of the challenges of adapting Selby's book was combining its different stories and characters into one film. Screenwriter

was brought on to pen the screenplay.

Filming

Filming took place over 14 weeks in the summer of 1988 on location in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, "only blocks from the housing projects where Mr. Selby lived while writing ''Last Exit.''" Some scenes for the film were shot at Montero's Bar and Grill, which was owned by Pilar Montero and her husband.

Reception

Release

The film was first released in Europe in 1989, where it was a critical and a commercial success. The film had a limited distribution in the United States in May 1990 after delays to its release date. Some theaters, such as the

Edwards theater The Sarasota Opera House (originally the Edwards Theatre) is an historic theatre, now opera house, located at 61 North Pineapple Avenue in Sarasota, Florida. The building was the vision of A.B. Edwards, the first mayor of Sarasota. It opened on Apri ...

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, declined to show the film because of its dark and graphic subject matter.

Critical response

The film has a 67% rating on review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 21 critics' reviews. Though critics noted the film's unrelenting bleakness and how it is not an easy watch, ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' was also praised for Uli Edel's direction and the performances of its actors.

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote the film "is both grim and eloquent. The strike scenes are some of the roughest ever seen in a fiction film." Canby added the film "has a European sensibility that works to the advantage of its American subject matter... ndsees everything at the distance of a sober-minded alien observer. One result is that Last Exit to Brooklyn''' never appears to exploit its sensational subject matter." He concluded the film "suggests that physical, social, psychological and political degradation can only be understood when seen in something like their true dimensions. Without hope." In a review that awarded 3 and ½ stars out of four,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

wrote the characters "are limited in their freedom to imagine greater happiness for themselves, and yet in their very misery they embody human striving. There is more of humanity in a prostitute trying to truly love, if only for a moment, than in all of the slow-motion romantic fantasies in the world."

Sheila Benson Sheila Benson (December 4, 1930February 23, 2022) was an American journalist and film critic. She served as film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1981 to 1991. Early life and education Benson was born in New York City on December 4, 193 ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote, "The strike-breaking attempt at the factory is ''Last Exit''’s vast visual set-piece, a long and magnificently staged mass of moving bodies and machinery that shows Edel’s accomplished and painterly eye and the remarkable camera work of Stefan Czapsky." Benson singled out Jennifer Jason Leigh as the "defiantly tragic Tralala, hrbach’s'' ic' implacable union leader, Stephen Lang’s self-hating Harry Black and Alexis Arquette’s dry wit-over-desperation as Georgette" as the film's standout performances.

Accolades

For her role as Tralala in this film and her role in ''

Miami Blues ''Miami Blues'' is a 1990 American neo-noir black comedy crime drama film directed by George Armitage, based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. It stars Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward (who also served as an executive producer) and Jen ...

'', Jennifer Jason Leigh won the award for Best Supporting Actress from both the

New York Film Critics Circle The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic organization founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale from the New York ''Daily News''. Its membership includes over 30 film critics from New York-based daily and weekly newspapers, magaz ...

and the

Boston Society of Film Critics The Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. History The BSFC was formed in 1981 to make “Boston’s unique critical perspective heard on a national and internati ...

Home media

''Last Exit to the Brooklyn'' was released on Blu-ray by

Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. History Independent era (1991–2012) Summit E ...

in October 2011.

References

External links

* * * *
"Anima Animus: Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Bisexual Method in ''Last Exit to Brooklyn''"
(''Alphaville'' journal) {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Exit To Brooklyn 1989 films 1989 drama films 1989 LGBT-related films 1989 independent films American drama films American independent films American LGBT-related films British drama films British independent films British LGBT-related films Drag (clothing)-related films English-language German films Films about drugs Films about prostitution in the United States Films about rape Films about the labor movement Films based on American novels Films based on works by Hubert Selby Jr. Films directed by Uli Edel Films produced by Bernd Eichinger Films set in Brooklyn Films set in the 1950s Films shot in Bavaria Films shot in New York (state) German drama films German independent films German LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films Transgender-related films West German films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1980s British films 1980s German films