Review of Q & A (1990) by Yves T — 01 Aug 2008
The third movie in Sidney Lumet's loosely-connected trilogy of police corruption combines the gritty realism of life in the police force with the trashiness of a sex, drugs and crime thriller. But the realism that Lumet reaches for is mostly about how racist, anti-Semitic and pretty much anti-everything the cops are, which results in a torrent of racial epithets and language that just adds to the trashy element.
The story seems complex but it is ultimately simple; it's a good cop/bad cop affair, with good but tough Hutton determined to expose bad Nolte and slimy boss O'Neal, with the help of drug runner Assante.
All of the complexity and trashiness keeps the story moving at a good clip, and the film seems shorter than its 2 hour plus running time. It also provides Nolte with one of his best roles as the menacing, corrupt Brennan, but he is matched move for move by Assante, even though they don't share any screen time.
The supporting cast also come up trumps, except for the director's daughter Jenny Lumet, who is wasted in a pointless and muddled romantic sub-plot.
This review of Q & A (1990) was written by Yves T on 01 Aug 2008.
Q & A has generally received positive reviews.
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