The story is set in the early 1950s in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a waterfront town of boarded-up storefronts and striking factory workers. Harry Black (Stephen Lang), a machinist put in charge of the local union strike office, suddenly finds himself one of the most important men in town. But for all his sudden power, there's something disturbing Harry. He rejects his wife's caresses and discovers himself infatuated with a frail young man who calls himself Georgette (Alexis Arquette), who has a crush on well-muscled hood Vinnie (Peter Dobson). But Harry doesn't confront his problem head-on until he falls in love with Regina (Zette), a local transvestite only interested in money. As the strike becomes more intense, Harry sinks deeper into an obsessive affair with Regina, using the strike fund to shower Regina with personal gifts. As Harry sinks into obsession, other characters float through the decaying streets. There's the attractive prostitute Tralala (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who falls in love with a young lieutenant from Idaho about to be shipped overseas. There is also an agreeable young man named Tommy (John Costelloe) who is beaten by his soon-to-be father-in-law Big Joe (Burt Young) for making his daughter Donna (Ricki Lake) pregnant. Everything comes to a tragic conclusion as the workers' strike escalates into a violent confrontation.
This depressing, violent, and haunting movie is as noirish as they come. It features good performances, including the scene of Tralala raped by dozens of men in an abandoned car. It's a sad and moving mix of union dispute, confused sexual identities, anger, and misplaced love--a good film, but not really a piece of entertainment. Filmed at Bavaria Filmstudios in Munich, the German title is "Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn". Hollywood does a more realistic job of making movies set in NYC. This film doesn't look exactly like 1950s Brooklyn. There is no New York skyline, the streets tend to look European, but the actors are very American and the vintage cars and props look impressively authentic. Mark Knopfler composed the original music. Desmond Nakano wrote the screenplay derived from Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1964 novel. Uli Edel directed.
