Cruising (1980) Review

Title: Cruising 
Year: 1980
Director: William Friedkin
Country: US
Language: English

Made shortly before the AIDS epidemic that would consume America, William Friedkin's Cruising was a controversial picture that would have to be cut over 50 times in order to be approved by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) in order for it to receive a rating so it could be distributed to theatres. The theatrical version I watched included a scene where a gay cop gets fisted by other gay cops; I would love to know what lay on the cutting room floor. 

In Cruising, a cishet police detective (Al Pacino) goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.

Throughout the production of Cruising, gay members of the New York City community were encouraged to disrupt the film. They used mirrors to ruin shots, played loud music, and thousands of people would march around where they were filming. I personally feel that the film portrayed the LGBT community in a sympathetic light; Friedkin demonstrates that the gay community is worth helping. It's certainly a less homophobic film than Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill, made around the same time. 

Cruising is a film in which there are no protagonists; we can't even relate to the seemingly emotionless character played by Pacino. The film's ambiguity and uncertainty are at the forefront of this film, creating its biggest strength; an atmosphere of paranoia and doubt. Friedkin resents the certainty of modern cinema & consistently challenges the status quo. This film is not an easy watch, but it is full of thriller & neo noir substance. 

Still about to elicit a variety of polarizing opinions from audiences, I personally feel like Cruising is a step in a positive direction in its depiction of gay culture. Albeit, at the same time, films like Portrait of a Lady on Fire & Moonlight are more easy to digest & can't be viewed as discriminatory. Watch this at your own risk.