Cruising (1980)

William Friedkin's 'Cruising' from 1980 stirred up a ton of controversies and was, among other things, accused of being homophobic. It has since become a cult classic and to me it's one of the best thrillers ever made.

Someone is killing members of the gay leather underground scene. Aside from belonging the same community all the victims are approximately the same age and have the same body type and hair colour. Al Pacino plays a police officer who matches the description and is asked to go undercover to find the murderer.

At first glance it all might seem rather standard, but 'Cruising' is far more than that. It's an ambiguous, nail biting, psychological thriller and a unique time capsel depicting a hidden subculture. If you like clear answers to this might not be your thing. At the end you will have some unanswered questions, but it's all done in a very deliberate way.

Al Pacino does a great role. This was back when he had a more low key approach to acting. He's an outsider trying to fit in. It's interesting to see him gradually getting more and more familiar with his new life, and how it affects him on a personal level. He feel like he's loosing himself and what it's like being a cop. This scares him and he wants out, but his boss won't let him. All of the actors make great roles and it's fun to see legendary character actors like Powers Boothe and Joe Spinell in minor roles. The retired New York police officer, Randy Jurgensen, also plays a role in the movie. He himself did undercover work in a similar milieu back in his police days and much of his own experiences made it into the movie. One the homepage of my favourite movie podcast, Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers, you can find a fantastic interview with Mr. Jurgensen which I highly encourage people to check out.

The sound design and music are really great and creates an unique atmosphere. I simply love the esthetics of this movie. You'll get your fare share of smoke filled bars, leather, denim, chains and boots. It's a weird and very cinematic world. Apparently Friedkin did a lot of research beforehand and several of the people hanging around the bars are not actors but regulars from the leather community. I find it extremely fascinating to observe this closed subculture.

Personally can't really see why the movie was accused of being homophobic. Some of the cops in the movie might be homophobic, but they are not exactly presented as the voice of reason. Even Pacino's character says at one point that he did not become a cop to harass gay people. Apart from this I didn't really feel that the movie made any particular statement on homosexuality at all.

In my opinion 'Cruising' might be one of the most underrated films ever made. Even though I know it has gotten more recognition over the years, it's still a very overlooked movie that few people seem to know about. Give it a watch if you like New York based crime movies from the 70s and 80s.