Last Exit to Brooklyn-1989
Director Uli Edel
Starring Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Top 250 Films #176
Scott’s Review #152
Reviewed August 13, 2014
Grade: A-
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989) is a slice-of-life film set in lower-class Brooklyn, NY, in the early 1950s.
It tells the story of a group of struggling neighborhood people- sex workers, union members, drag queens, etc., whose lives intersect. Also in the neighborhood is a military base where soldiers come and go on their way to war-torn Korea.
The central characters, though there are several with small yet interesting stories, are Harry, played by Stephen Lang, a sexually conflicted union worker with a wife and newborn child.
He is in love with a selfish drag queen, and Marilyn Monroe lookalike, Tralala, played superbly by Jennifer Jason Leigh, a prostitute whose best days are behind her, and who will do anything for attention.
The sets and cinematography in the film are very well done- the feeling of despair and hopelessness is accomplished by the dowdy streets, homes, and bars that the cast frequents.
Some of the characters are sympathetic- the aforementioned plus Tralala’s love interest, the Diner boy madly in love with Tralala, and the virginal seeming (but not really) Donna, portrayed by a young Rikki Lake.
Other characters are abhorrent in their violence and hatred.
Last Exit to Brooklyn is quite a dark film and sometimes tough to watch, but it captures a dreary time and atmosphere. The Brooklyn set is excellent in its dreariness.
Jennifer Jason Leigh is the standout as the tough-talking, boozy prostitute who is losing her luster, and the final scene of the film is truly a heartbreaker.
The topics of union, strike, bisexuality, gangs, and drag queens are covered, and unique characters and conflict/loneliness are presented.
This film is an overlooked gem from 1989.
