Cruising is set in New York where severed body parts are being found in the Hudson River & a gay man into extreme leather & S&M sex named Loren Lukas (Arnaldo Santana) is found brutally murdered, a single serial killer targeting the extreme gay community is thought to be responsible. The New York gay community doesn't have much of a relationship with the NYPD & getting any sort of information is like getting blood out of stone, Captain Edelson (Paul Sorvino) needs a man undercover so recruits patrol cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) who matches the victims physical profiles. Steve accepts the assignment & start cruising the notorious extreme gay S&M bars in New York looking for clues & trying to attract the killer...
This American German co-production was written & directed by William Friedkin & while it has a notorious reputation I must admit that I quite liked Cruising (the film not the real life act I hasten to add...). The script was based on the novel by Gerald Walker & is a fairly sleazy, seedy serial killer thriller but one that I found strangely entertaining. It's gritty, uncompromising & sometimes explicit but that adds to it rather than detracts in my opinion, it gives it a certain gravity although it's certainly not a film for everyone & I could see it offending more than a few people. It's interesting to note although maybe not surprising that apart from Pacino's wife I don't think there is another female speaking role in the entire film. The basic story of a detective going undercover in a sleazy world he didn't even know existed is reasonable, we don't really get inside his head that much & while we know it's affecting him we aren't really sure why. I think Friedkin could have expanded this side of the script a bit more to be honest. The way the killer is tracked down is also a little bit random, the way the killer just happened to try & chat Pacino up & then Pacino is handed a load of photo's on the slim chance he might recognise someone who he does. A bit to much of a coincidence for me. I would have liked a bit more detective work & the ending is very frustrating & abrupt which leaves the viewer wondering what the hell has just happened. Sure the ending is open to viewer interpretation but since it's a bit of a mess it's very hard to make any definite conclusion & you finish watching the film feeling a little cheated which isn't good. Having said that Cruising remained nothing if not watchable & fairly engrossing for me, I suppose it's a bit like a car crash where you just have to look & for me the gay bar scenes are certainly memorable although I am not sure they paint the gay community in a particularly good light. I mean according to Cruising all gays are hunky bodybuilder types who dress in tight t-shirts or vests, wear leather cowboy chaps, wear those leather caps & tight jeans who are all into kinky S&M leather bondage sex with complete strangers.
There is some priceless dialogue in Cruising that is laugh out loud funny, I know I shouldn't laugh but I did. The 'has anyone ever smoked your pipe' & 'come here, I want to show you my nightstick' lines had me in hysterics. Then of course there's the infamous interrogation scene when the NYPD use a naked except for a cowboy hat & jock strap big black guy to beat a suspect! A truly surreal yet funny scene that I probably won't forget in a hurry. Apparently cut by forty odd minutes Cruising can be pretty graphic at times, from vicious knife murders to severed limbs to autopsies, from explicit sexual dialogue to sequences set in gay bars to depictions of S&M. I'm sure many will will much here to object to but none of it really bothered me to be honest. Cruising caused a fair bit of controversy & there were prominent protests both during the filming of it & when it opened to theatres.
Technically the film is very good, it's well made & has that Hollywood polish about it although it still remains fairly gritty & sleazy just as it should. Shot on location in New York & in real gay bars there. The acting is very good from all involved, Pacino is just a great actor anyway & watchable in any film he's ever been in really.
Cruising is not a film for everyone & I think that is pretty clear but I have to say that I liked it & was pretty impressed. I don't really care if this ruffles a few feathers in the gay community or upsets anyone, I liked it & that's all that matters to me.
This American German co-production was written & directed by William Friedkin & while it has a notorious reputation I must admit that I quite liked Cruising (the film not the real life act I hasten to add...). The script was based on the novel by Gerald Walker & is a fairly sleazy, seedy serial killer thriller but one that I found strangely entertaining. It's gritty, uncompromising & sometimes explicit but that adds to it rather than detracts in my opinion, it gives it a certain gravity although it's certainly not a film for everyone & I could see it offending more than a few people. It's interesting to note although maybe not surprising that apart from Pacino's wife I don't think there is another female speaking role in the entire film. The basic story of a detective going undercover in a sleazy world he didn't even know existed is reasonable, we don't really get inside his head that much & while we know it's affecting him we aren't really sure why. I think Friedkin could have expanded this side of the script a bit more to be honest. The way the killer is tracked down is also a little bit random, the way the killer just happened to try & chat Pacino up & then Pacino is handed a load of photo's on the slim chance he might recognise someone who he does. A bit to much of a coincidence for me. I would have liked a bit more detective work & the ending is very frustrating & abrupt which leaves the viewer wondering what the hell has just happened. Sure the ending is open to viewer interpretation but since it's a bit of a mess it's very hard to make any definite conclusion & you finish watching the film feeling a little cheated which isn't good. Having said that Cruising remained nothing if not watchable & fairly engrossing for me, I suppose it's a bit like a car crash where you just have to look & for me the gay bar scenes are certainly memorable although I am not sure they paint the gay community in a particularly good light. I mean according to Cruising all gays are hunky bodybuilder types who dress in tight t-shirts or vests, wear leather cowboy chaps, wear those leather caps & tight jeans who are all into kinky S&M leather bondage sex with complete strangers.
There is some priceless dialogue in Cruising that is laugh out loud funny, I know I shouldn't laugh but I did. The 'has anyone ever smoked your pipe' & 'come here, I want to show you my nightstick' lines had me in hysterics. Then of course there's the infamous interrogation scene when the NYPD use a naked except for a cowboy hat & jock strap big black guy to beat a suspect! A truly surreal yet funny scene that I probably won't forget in a hurry. Apparently cut by forty odd minutes Cruising can be pretty graphic at times, from vicious knife murders to severed limbs to autopsies, from explicit sexual dialogue to sequences set in gay bars to depictions of S&M. I'm sure many will will much here to object to but none of it really bothered me to be honest. Cruising caused a fair bit of controversy & there were prominent protests both during the filming of it & when it opened to theatres.
Technically the film is very good, it's well made & has that Hollywood polish about it although it still remains fairly gritty & sleazy just as it should. Shot on location in New York & in real gay bars there. The acting is very good from all involved, Pacino is just a great actor anyway & watchable in any film he's ever been in really.
Cruising is not a film for everyone & I think that is pretty clear but I have to say that I liked it & was pretty impressed. I don't really care if this ruffles a few feathers in the gay community or upsets anyone, I liked it & that's all that matters to me.