Last Exit to Brooklyn (1990)

76% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(2,143 ratings)

Hubert Selby's controversial 1964 cult novel Last Exit To Brooklyn is adapted to the big screen by director Ulrich Edel in this drama. The story is set in the early 1950s in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a blighted waterfront town of boarded-up storefronts and striking factory workers. Harry Black (Stephen… More Hubert Selby's controversial 1964 cult novel Last Exit To Brooklyn is adapted to the big screen by director Ulrich Edel in this drama. The story is set in the early 1950s in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a blighted waterfront town of boarded-up storefronts and striking factory workers. Harry Black (Stephen Lang), a machinist put in charge of the local union strike office, suddenly finds himself one of the most important men in town. But for all his sudden power, there's something disturbing Harry. He rejects his wife's caresses and discovers himself infatuated with a frail young man who calls himself Georgette (Alexis Arquette), who has a crush on well-muscled hood Vinnie (Peter Dobson). But Harry doesn't confront his problem head-on until he falls head-over-heels in love with Regina (Zette), a local transvestite. As the strike becomes more intense, Harry sinks deeper into an obsessive affair with Regina, using the strike fund to shower him/her with personal gifts. As Harry sinks into obsession, other characters float through the decaying streets. There's the attractive prostitute Tralala (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who falls in love with a sailor about to be shipped overseas. There is also an agreeable young man named Tommy (John Costelloe) who is beaten by his soon-to-be father-in-law Big Joe (Burt Young) for making his daughter Donna (Ricki Lake) pregnant. Everything comes to a tragic conclusion as the workers' strike escalates into a violent confrontation. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Uli Edel
Written By: Hubert Selby Jr., Desmond Nakano
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1989 Wide
On DVD: Dec 19, 1990
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Cinematic style and Jennifer Jason Leigh make this worth watching.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
For the most part, Edel captures the harrowing grim tone of the book and the compassion the author had for his unsympathetic flawed characters.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
German director Eli Edel has fashioned a grim yet coherent and extremely well acted tale out of Hubert Selby's 1964 collection of short stories about misfits, criminals and outsiders in Brooklyn's Red Hook, circa 1952.
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)
So bleak a vision as to be obsessive and ultimately shallow.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The pockmarked buildings have a peeling grayness, as if some forgotten battle had been waged there and dulled everything in its wake.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

Hubert Selby Jr's novel of life and hard times in 1950's Brooklyn is a web of interconnecting stories involving work lock-outs, domestic violence and Jennifer Jason Leigh as local hooker. Despite some powerful scenes, there's too much self-importance in the narrative,… More
Hubert Selby Jr's novel of life and hard times in 1950's Brooklyn is a web of interconnecting stories involving work lock-outs, domestic violence and Jennifer Jason Leigh as local hooker. Despite some powerful scenes, there's too much self-importance in the narrative, no real perspective and a woeful lack of humour.
Mike T

I usually don't approve of comparisons between source material and film, but I can't prevent myself from doing it here. Selby Jr.'s novel presents some of the most violent, depraved images of desperation and hopelessness in literature. The book got under my skin and has… More
I usually don't approve of comparisons between source material and film, but I can't prevent myself from doing it here. Selby Jr.'s novel presents some of the most violent, depraved images of desperation and hopelessness in literature. The book got under my skin and has stayed there through the years since I read it. The film, although distinctly stylized and directed with precision, fails to deliver the same kind of visceral impact. It is violent, but it is not violent enough. It is bleak, but it never approaches the hellish gloom of the source material. The performances are all impressive, and it is a polished piece of work overall. It just doesn't hit hard enough.
Sylvester K

A depiction of the low lives in Brooklyn, featuring an excellent cast. The merciless and fierce atmosphere was presented with the well designed lighting.
Anthony V

Unsympathetic characters, unpleasant situations. . . isn't life swell? Please don't watch this in the bath tub with razor blades near by.

Cast

            Stephen Lang as Harry Black

            Jennifer Jason Leigh as Tralala

            Burt Young as Big Joe

            Peter Dobson as Vinnie

            Jerry Orbach as Boyce

            Alexis Arquette as Georgette

            Stephen Baldwin as Sal

            Cameron Johann as Spook

            Rick Aiello
            
            Rutanya Alda as Georgette's Mother

            Jason Andrews as Tony

            Daniel Beer as Tral's Trick

            Mark Boone Jr. as Willie

            Joseph Carberry as Uptown Bartender

            John Costelloe as Tommy

            Christopher Curry as Riot Police Officer

            Maia Danziger as Mary Black

            Colleen Flynn as Ruthie

            Ray Gill as Dowland

            James Harper as Cop

            Robert Kramer as Fred

            Ricki Lake as Donna

            James Lorinz as Freddy

            Frank Military as Steve

            Christopher Murney as Paulie

            Michael O'Hare as Riot Police Officer

            Lisa Passero as Teresa

            Hubert Rechy as Hit-Run Driver

            Sam Rockwell as Al

            Camille Saviola as Ella

            Al Shannon
            
            Bruce Smolanoff as Lost Soldier

            Sylvie Spector as Submarine Annie

            Mike Starr as Security Guard

            Frank Vincent as Priest

            David Warshofsky
            
            Robert Weil as Alex

            Zette Sullivan as Regina

            Hubert Selby Jr. as Hit-Run Driver

            Bob Martana as Truck Driver
See full cast