was life in brooklyn really that sleazy?
it just seems too messed up. Reminds me of saturday night fever.
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MovieChat Forums > Last Exit to Brooklyn (1990) Discussion > was life in brooklyn really that sleazy?
Yes, 'specialy during the Crack head 80's.
shareI believe Selby was addressing the left-behinds following the migration from the cities to the suburbs that took place in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The people who weren't rich enough, smart enough, or "normal" enough to leave.
shareEverywhere is that sleazy. You just don't see it.
shareReminds me of Midnight Cowboy, it truly is sad to see people stuck in situations like that.
shareEven way back then when you combine newly landed immigrants, poverty, crime and repressed sexual attitudes you get situations like those in the film. Pills and heroin were readily available; they remained underground because they didn't fit in a timeslot well next to "Leave It To Beaver"...
shareI believe what Hubert Selby Junior was doing was exposing the seedy underbelly of the American dream, showing that amidst the dark chaos there remained some good and shining a light on the dark side of the propped-up cardboard effigies of "puritanical" America.
This would have been a tough movie to make well. A lot of unpopular ideas about humanity surface in this movie.
What really fricked it was the sound. On the DVD I got the background was about twice as loud as the dialogue.
@sammyusa123
Hello,
What do YOU think? Since you are asking, apparently the film did not convince you. Director Uli Edel had to repeat the success of Christiane F., and probably tried to create a similar environment. We are tricked into believing that we watch a documentary, whereas in fact it is only phantasy. In my opinion the atmosphere in Saturday Night Fever is much more humane. There the characters may be somewhat unbalanced, but they are not total outcasts.
Hello again, It worries me that the film dehumanizes the characters. Many viewers may not be aware of this approach, and will consequently feel superior. In Hollywood films the elimination of morals and values reaches incredible proportions. For instance, the films with Steven Seagal still surprise me. The main character kills people almost at random, without reason, and the maiming of his enemies seems to give him joy. Some decades ago, such films could exist only in the sleazy (illegal) circuit.
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