Cruising is a Horror film. Part Giallo, part slasher - it encapsulates the fear of serial killers in the late 70s and early 1980s. There is a stark difference to New York in 1979. It feels harsher and perhaps more savage.
Gay men were being systematically murdered by not just one, but more likely three separate killers. Harvey Milk had been assassinated and the police targeted assaults of homosexuals was nothing new.
It was an incredibly scary time to be a gay man in America. Somehow director William Friedkin is able to bottle all that and serve it in a sugar rimmed glass.
Cruising has a vibe of its own that cannot be re-created. It’s a moment in time where even the subculture of leather bars permeated the culture. Disco was winding down with the straights, Punk was in flux at that moment and soon the airwaves would be dominated by synthesizers.
Movie or not, Cruising is uncomfortably close to reality. Too close for some.
Cruising is a moment in time. A snapshot if you will. Its ambiguity frustrated viewers in its initial release. Most folks didn’t want it shown in their communities.
So the film got buried. It was too shocking for the suburbanites of the time.
That said, we have been avoiding the big question Cruising asks: Is Steve Burns (Al Pacino) gay?
Well that’s complicated. Is he curious? Bi? Queer? It’s a question that many closeted people were afraid to ask themselves. This isn’t Richard Donner’s Superman. Our protagonist is shocked by what he finds out about himself. I think in those last moments of the film, Burns is also just as confused or perhaps even ashamed.
That’s my takeaway: we are most uncomfortable when we explore our own truths.
I think after all these years, that’s what Friedkin was saying.
I believe that not only as a director, but as a human being, that William Friedkin stared longingly into the abyss and that contemplative darkness allowed him to make incredible motion pictures that served as a sort of cathartic exercise.
Cruising isn’t perfect but it’s definitely worth the ride. Even if it’s just for the vibe.
7/10 🍿
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