Cruising (1980)

Directed by William Friedkin. Starring Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Don Scardino, Richard Cox, Jay Acovone, Joe Spinell, Randy Jurgensen, James Remar, Mike Starr, Gene Davis. [R]

A young NYC cop (Pacino), eager for a big case to advance his career, accepts an undercover assignment sending him into the gay subculture of “heavy leather” and S&M to try and find a serial killer targeting young gay men who frequent leather bars in the West Village. Baiting considerable controversy during production and upon release, this is an ugly and hostile thriller that “cruises” on the voyeuristic level of what the filmmakers consider to be sordid texture and perverse lifestyle. We don’t get to know Pacino’s character, or whether his ambivalence is a performance-within-a-performance or a reflection of sociopathic behavior on the policeman’s part; is he given a one-dimensional girlfriend (Allen) to soften his brittle edges or as a red herring misdirection away from the monster lurking underneath? My question hints at the stunningly mishandled ambiguities of its finale, which only further cheapen the film’s tacky exploration of a kinky underworld that apparently exists only to be exploited. It might even be acceptable (if not forgivable) had the movie been gripping as a hard-edged thriller, but the story structure is confused, and there’s no suspense to speak of, just menace, psychological torture, self-pity, and punishment. Look for Ed O’Neill and Powers Boothe in small roles (a detective and a store clerk, respectively).

32/100