Last Exit to Brooklyn

Last Exit to Brooklyn

Last Exit to Brooklyn is a very violent film. In fact, the film’s purpose is to have the audience look at the whole question of violence. The film shows, in a very realistic way, the psychological, verbal and physical violence that permeates a Brooklyn neighborhood in the midst of a bitter strike during the 1950s. The film is based on the book, Last Exit to Brooklyn, by Hubert Selby, which was banned for its violent and sexually explicit content.

Verbal violence is very prevalent in this film. People swear at and verbally abuse one another throughout the movie. Everyone seems angry. There are several causes for their anger. First the film takes place during a strike. Many of the characters are unemployed and have little money. They resort to drinking and drugs that feed into their society’s violent tendencies. In one scene, the workers who are on strike are screaming obscenities at the scab workers and the boss. But in virtually every scene there is verbal violence. In every scene someone is being threatened, belittled, embarrassed or humiliated. The verbal violence is so punishing because behind it is the possibility of physical violence.

Physical violence is also very common behaviour in the movie. For example, the very first scene shows a violent altercation between three soldiers and a gang of local thugs. Physical violence is the fundamental way in which the whole society behaves. The men use it to show that they are “macho,” so they beat up those who are weaker than they are, especially women. For example, Vinnie, the leader of a street gang, physically and verbally harasses a young prostitute named Tralala. In the most violent, nasty, and horrible scene in the movie, Tralala is gang raped and beaten by over a hundred men in a garbage dump. Many of the men in the film are homophobic and sexually insecure, and they act out their hostility and insecurity by beating up gays. They have problems at work and go out on strike. But their strike is full of violent incidents: they get into fist fights, they blow up trucks, they beat up cops. Whenever they have a problem, they use violence to deal with it.

Psychological violence, that is, intimidation or the threat of violence, is also an important element of this film. Vinnie is a gang leader who uses psychological violence to control and manipulate his gang and other people in the neighborhood.