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Q&A
Sidney Lumet, who had an affinity for gritty New York crime dramas like Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Prince of the City was slightly less effective with 1990's Q&A, the kind of story that we expect from Lumet, but the overly complex screenplay makes it way longer than it needs to be, despite a fantastic cast working at the top of their game.
Nick Nolte plays Detective Mike Brennan, a dirty New York cop who thinks he's going to get away with murder until an idealistic young ADA named Al Riley (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) is assigned to the case. Riley begins the case with an open mind and notebook until a single lead leads him down a dangerous path to the inevitable showdown with Brennan,
Lumet also co-wrote the screenplay, which plays out Columbo style...we see the crime committed at the beginning of the movie and the fun for the viewer is supposed to be watching the white hats figure out while the black hats try and cover their tracks. We do get that, but it is blown up to such elephantine scope that viewer patience is definitely challenged. It is a little scary watching all the people Brennan has in his pocket, not to mention the people he threatens to take down with him.
The introduction of the Mike Brennan character that the NYPD knows is extremely effective. He's outside the office waiting to be questioned about the murder, putting his fellow officers in stitches telling an off color story about an old case, keeping his fellow officers in stitches. Unfortunately, it's not long after this scene that we see Brennan threatening or intimidating most of the officers who were listening to that story.
Nick Nolte's powerhouse work here should have earned him an Oscar nomination. This character is so explosive and unpredictable, never knowing what he's going to do until he actually does it. Especially loved the scene where he threatens a fellow officer played by Luiz Guzman, in front of his son. His cornering of the only eye witness to his crime and his final confrontation with Hutton's character also sizzle.
Hutton effectively underplays as Al Riley, but never allows Nolte to blow him off the screen. The rest of the rock solid supporting cast includes Charles S Dutton, Patrick O'Neal, Armand Assante, Paul Calderon, Dominic Chianese, John Capodice, and Jenny Lumet, the director's daughter. As always, Lumet creates a moody and chilling atmosphere for a compelling story, though I did find myself checking my watch.
Sidney Lumet, who had an affinity for gritty New York crime dramas like Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Prince of the City was slightly less effective with 1990's Q&A, the kind of story that we expect from Lumet, but the overly complex screenplay makes it way longer than it needs to be, despite a fantastic cast working at the top of their game.
Nick Nolte plays Detective Mike Brennan, a dirty New York cop who thinks he's going to get away with murder until an idealistic young ADA named Al Riley (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) is assigned to the case. Riley begins the case with an open mind and notebook until a single lead leads him down a dangerous path to the inevitable showdown with Brennan,
Lumet also co-wrote the screenplay, which plays out Columbo style...we see the crime committed at the beginning of the movie and the fun for the viewer is supposed to be watching the white hats figure out while the black hats try and cover their tracks. We do get that, but it is blown up to such elephantine scope that viewer patience is definitely challenged. It is a little scary watching all the people Brennan has in his pocket, not to mention the people he threatens to take down with him.
The introduction of the Mike Brennan character that the NYPD knows is extremely effective. He's outside the office waiting to be questioned about the murder, putting his fellow officers in stitches telling an off color story about an old case, keeping his fellow officers in stitches. Unfortunately, it's not long after this scene that we see Brennan threatening or intimidating most of the officers who were listening to that story.
Nick Nolte's powerhouse work here should have earned him an Oscar nomination. This character is so explosive and unpredictable, never knowing what he's going to do until he actually does it. Especially loved the scene where he threatens a fellow officer played by Luiz Guzman, in front of his son. His cornering of the only eye witness to his crime and his final confrontation with Hutton's character also sizzle.
Hutton effectively underplays as Al Riley, but never allows Nolte to blow him off the screen. The rest of the rock solid supporting cast includes Charles S Dutton, Patrick O'Neal, Armand Assante, Paul Calderon, Dominic Chianese, John Capodice, and Jenny Lumet, the director's daughter. As always, Lumet creates a moody and chilling atmosphere for a compelling story, though I did find myself checking my watch.