Synopsis: Raw dears-- don't rent, if truth is a painful thing. 
The story
chronicles young Brooklyn hustlers before the beat generation: coulda' easily
been the OV we grew up in. Actually it seems far grittier,
than the way we viewed the "View", until the 70's when everyone went nuts. The
film is based on a book by very beat writer Hubert Selby, often
confused with Herbert Huncke (remember Kerouac's
entourage?). Last Exit was banned in Britain in 1964, bringing Selby,
ex-marine, turned addict a good deal of notoriety: in those days it wasn't considered good
marketing.
Deservedly
Rated R, Jennifer Jason Leigh's characterization of 'Tra-la-la' is haunting-- and
ironically, she's the conscience (reluctantly/futilely) of this "in your space"
tale. Scenes might recall 1954's On the Waterfront, if film-making were as advanced technically and uh,
reality-based then. In '69 Midnight
Cowboy sprang from James Herlihy's 1965 novel, and got an X Rating: the first (if
not only such film) to garner Oscars-- three: Best Picture, Directory, Screenplay. The
film borders on sentimental, when compared to Last Exit. Cowboy was
justifiably downgraded to an 'R', on initial release.
Last Exit is Leigh's. But don't take our say-so; she won 1989's 
New York Film
Critics Circle Award-- one tough crowd ("By
far the oldest, certainly the bitchiest, and probably the squarest, of the three major
critics groups...") for her performance. You gotta' like JLL: she's not Jack Nicholsen or Cary
Grant who are (love you guys, but face it) the same character in every
movie. In fact, you're a film buff if you recognize JLL from one film to another.
The closest we recall to her depiction of 'Tra-la-la' is the woman who
(while ironing, surrounded by kids and hubby) takes phone sex/900# calls in Robert Altman's "Short
Cuts". A role reversal could've worked easily there: "The only thing
sexier than a man at a sink, is a man at an ironing board." (That's pretty good
R K, you just quoted yourself) but we grooved on "Mrs. Parker
and the Vicious Circle" (another great JLL flick) because you gotta' dig Dorothy Parker.
The real deal on personal faves: To Kill a Mockingbird (didja' know
the character 'Dill' was based on Truman Capote in the Harper Lee novel?) and
Barry Levinson's Diner;
these films top my list for honesty, directorial and story-telling expertise. They
say things about us which we might not necessary like, but they allow us to forgive
ourselves. Exit makes forgiving pretty tough. While I'm not an aficionado of
'the dark side' in entertainment and literature (there's so much filth and raunch for
it's own sake in today's diverse venues) because you never have to seek 'the dark'
out-- it'll find you.
When you find this kind of honesty though, it's not only palatable, it's
extraordinary.
***
Send the kids to the den with a cassette of Popeye
while you watch it-- R K
©2003 R K Puma
rk@rkpuma.com
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