Undoubtedly one of the most controversial films ever made, William Friedkin’s provocative tale of a homosexual killer on the loose in the sultry sexual playground of New York City in the 1980s is constantly being re-evaluated and reinterpreted through far more educated eyes than mine, but time has aged it well enough for me to at least admit that it’s an incomprehensible serial-killer flick that you just can’t look away from.
When a human arm is found floating in the harbor, Al Pacino — who resembles a then-current Lou Reed, oddly enough — stars as a New York City police officer that goes undercover in the extremely sensual gay leather underworld to hunt down the brutal killer who sing-songs a nursery rhyme when engaging in his deadly deeds, mostly thanks to a dead father that gave him the worst (imagined?) parental advice possible.
Becoming a well-liked regular in the highly sexual bars and clubs around town — the beautifully graphic leather-daddy scenes are still legendary for pushing the boundaries of the MPAA — Pacino quickly finds himself questioning his own heterosexuality as he gets deeper and deeper into his supposed undercover character, going out into the night, hanging around the park while dressed in leathers, shorts and a handkerchief hanging out of his back pocket.
When Pacino finally does track the killer down in said park, it’s hard to exactly say if the movie ends on a typical Hollywood ending or, as he breaks the fourth wall and stares directly at the audience, something darker has happened inside him that were not privy to just as the credits roll, blasting Willy DeVille’s “It’s So Easy”; either way, it’s an enthralling mess that I could watch again and again, possibly even questioning my own aesthetic draw to the subcultures in the film.
The Arrow Video Blu-ray has a brand-new commentary from Friedkin that explores many of the themes above, if you’re at all interested; additionally, a pair of archival featurettes document the still-relevant controversy surrounding the movie and, up until that point, its (justifiably) tarnished legacy. Cruising is a disturbing, challenging film that some will like, some will hate, and some will totally get off on — maybe even a combination of all three, if you’ve got the time. —Louis Fowler