My one MAJOR gripe with this movie is Al Pacino's hair style: I understand that this is the 80's, but that bad-perm look does not suit him well at all. Otherwise, this movie is fairly decent. A serial killer is gruesomely offing members of NYC's gay S&M underworld, and Pacino is the cop assigned to go undercover to snare the killer, in the process questioning his own sexuality and self-confidence.
I understand how this could've caused major controversy upon its initial release 20 years ago, when homosexuality was still in the process of becoming accepted amongst the public as a lifestyle (it still is for that matter). With several scenes of men groping and kissing other men, portrayals of gay leathermen interested in nothing but kinky sex, and the depiction of the sleazy underworld of the S&M scene in New York City circa 1980, no wonder people got all up in arms over this. And we have Al Pacino of all people right in the middle of it all to boot!! I'm not saying that the film's representation of this lifestyle is positive, or even accurate, but it does raise eyebrows, possibly to intentionally ignite the very same controversy that accompanied the film's release. Who knows? But taken just on entertainment value alone (it is a movie after all, its purpose, hopefully, being to entertain the masses), it is mildly satisfying. A big liability is the script, I must say. Usually if the story is engrossing enough, I'll try and overlook a faulty screenplay, but the dialogue here is really quite awful, and the wooden acting does not do much to pump it up at all. Even Pacino's performance as the conflicted cop is uncharacteristically dull. A few moments of the classic Pacino intensity seep through, but they are too few and too far between. William Friedkin's direction is fine, if not unimpressive. Loaded with symbolism and atmosphere, this movie fits right in with Freidkin's oeuvre.
Overall, not as bad as some would have you think, but certainly not a masterpiece either. Good slice-of-life picture of NYC in the early 80's though.
I understand how this could've caused major controversy upon its initial release 20 years ago, when homosexuality was still in the process of becoming accepted amongst the public as a lifestyle (it still is for that matter). With several scenes of men groping and kissing other men, portrayals of gay leathermen interested in nothing but kinky sex, and the depiction of the sleazy underworld of the S&M scene in New York City circa 1980, no wonder people got all up in arms over this. And we have Al Pacino of all people right in the middle of it all to boot!! I'm not saying that the film's representation of this lifestyle is positive, or even accurate, but it does raise eyebrows, possibly to intentionally ignite the very same controversy that accompanied the film's release. Who knows? But taken just on entertainment value alone (it is a movie after all, its purpose, hopefully, being to entertain the masses), it is mildly satisfying. A big liability is the script, I must say. Usually if the story is engrossing enough, I'll try and overlook a faulty screenplay, but the dialogue here is really quite awful, and the wooden acting does not do much to pump it up at all. Even Pacino's performance as the conflicted cop is uncharacteristically dull. A few moments of the classic Pacino intensity seep through, but they are too few and too far between. William Friedkin's direction is fine, if not unimpressive. Loaded with symbolism and atmosphere, this movie fits right in with Freidkin's oeuvre.
Overall, not as bad as some would have you think, but certainly not a masterpiece either. Good slice-of-life picture of NYC in the early 80's though.