Cruising (1980)         Dir:  William Friedkin Cast:  Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Don Scardino, Richard Cox, Joe Spinell, Jay Acovone, Rayndy Jurgensen, Barton Heyman, Ed O'Neill Rated R, Approx:  106 minutes A Warner Bros. Picture (Not Available on DVD)

"Al Pacino is Cruising for a Killer."

William Friedkin's Dark and Disturbed Foray Into the Gay New York Underground is a flawed but compelling piece...

"You Made Me Do That."

Both adapting from a novel by Gerald Walker and working behind the directors chair, William Friedkin's Cruising went through a lot of hell when it was released in 1980 due to the many protests it received for its depiction of the gay underground scene. The critics weren't any easier on it and the film got some Razzie Nominations (the anti-oscar) to boot. I can see at the time how this film became so controversial for its tone and its interesting to see now that its become something of a cult hit. While it isn't without its share of flaws and plot gaps, I found "Cruising" to be a very disturbing and intriguing film that's not as terrible as the press or the reviews would lead you to believe.

Steve Burns (Al Pacino) has just started working his job as a rookie in the New York police department when he's encountered by a homicide detective (Paul Sorvino) to help him out with a case. The undercover job will require him to head out to various gay S&M clubs and find a serial killer, who cruises around in clubs and brutally murders his victims. As Steve starts to get highly involved with the new case of cruising for the killer, he finds it more affecting trying to fit into this new dreary life he's got to take on and tries to keep himself together from becoming a total mess.

Friedkin's unflinching vision of the underground scene is a little tough to watch and has an authentic feel to it (almost all the people he used in the clubs were real cruisers). He especially knows how to grab your nerves during the death scenes. These scenes are bloody and intense, working by implying the worst details.

Questionable Material Mutes Some of the desired Impact.

I was impressed with Friedkins work behind the camera and his adaption of the Walker novel is gripping, but it leaves a lot to be desired. Where the first half is heavy and attention grabbing, it suddenly starts to take on a more campy approach in the second half turning dull. The chase for the killer drags down and doesn't always make sense. One scene comes to mind where a built man in nothing but a jock strap appears in a police interrogation room and the cops (aside from Pacino and Sorvino, all of them are depicted in bad light) reluctantly let him slug Pacino and another man around. The point of this scene; hmmm... shock value? Where I was starting to tire from the film, the last 15 minutes really surprised me and the film took a very interesting twist. It comes off as anticlimatic, but still gives you plenty to think about afterwards.  The finale  left chills down my spine.

The fact that Pacino was supposedly uncomfortable during the making of the movie actually works more to the character, putting forth a magnificent job just through his creeped face expressions alone. Sorvino and Karen Allen (as Burns girlfriend) are both equally strong in their parts, but aren't really given too much to do in here. One performance worth notice is Don Scardino as a friendly neighbor of Burns. For the often negative view on gays in this film, his character is a welcome relief and the scenes he shares with Pacino are some of the films best moments. Also, be sure to look out for James Remar as a greasy cruiser, Joe Spinell as a dirty cop and Ed O'Neill as a cocky detective.

It was a gutsy move of Warner Bros. to release this film out, considering its one that wouldn't appeal to a big crowd and it supposedly flopped. The grisly violence and sexual acts toward gays turned off a good majority of people from the film, but if you've got the stomach for it and can forgive some serious plot holes, I think its an interesting crime drama worth a look.

Adam's Rating: * * *  out of 5 Reviewed by Adam Eshack 1/22/02