One can learn a semester’s worth of film school education by watching the films of Sidney Lumet. A prolific, steady studio hand for decades, Lumet was a refreshingly unshowy filmmaker who relied on gripping scripts and stellar performances. More so than even the most virtuosic auteurs, Lumet, who wrote the definitive book on filmmaking, Making Movies, knew how to elevate films through simple but potent formalist tricks. Within his deep filmography, Lumet directed a handful of overlooked gems buried under stone-cold classics like 12 Angry Men and Dog Day Afternoon, including Q & A, a police procedural and crime saga about systemic corruption and the futility of justice. Considering the topical nature of its themes in 2024, the film is more built to be appreciated today than in 1990.

Sidney Lumet Tells a Sprawling Crime Epic in ‘Q & A’
Image via Tri-Star Pictures

Rather than indulging in athletic feats of filmmaking or a distinct style, Sidney Lumet deployed a minimalist approach to tackle urgent and evergreen social issues. One of the recurring themes, police corruption and abuse of power, was the throughline of an unofficial spiritual trilogy of cop thrillers, including Serpico, Prince of the City, and concluding with Q & A. The film, featuring a rare writing credit by Lumet, centers around the aftershock of the street execution of a low-level Puerto Rican gangster by the revered but crooked police detective Mike Brennan (Nick Nolte), who has various dealings with organized crime families throughout New York City. The District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau assigns Aloysius “Al” Reilly (Timothy Hutton), a young, straight-laced DA who was the son of a slain police officer, to run a deposition on Brennan’s shooting, which is understood to be an open-and-shut case of self-defense. Dubious of Brennan’s innocence, Al investigates the case and unearths a whirlwind of backdoor corruption as he consults with a Puerto Rican crime boss, Bobby Tex (Armand Assante), to bring justice to this cover-up.

The abridged synopsis of Q & A doesn’t tell the whole story, as it is a crime epic without the runtime to back it up. With a film that also features a turf war between rival Italian and Puerto Rican gangs and a splintered romance between Al and his ex, Nancy Bosch (Jenny Lumet), a 3-hour runtime would’ve let every plot line breathe a little more. The film’s second act has the pacing of a cop drama on television due to Lumet juggling multiple story arcs at once, with the arc surrounding Al and Nancy’s contentious relationship being the most undercooked. You can sense Lumet’s determination to craft an all-encompassing story about crime in America, but it undermines the director’s strengths as a character and performance-based filmmaker. One has to wonder if Lumet granted screenwriting duties to a previous collaborator like Frank Pierson or David Mamet, Q & A would’ve been more taut and focused.

‘Q & A’ Dissects Police Corruption and Abuse of Power

All gripes aside, the highs of Q & A demonstrate the best of Sidney Lumet’s impeccable abilities as a director of stirring drama and complex themes. At arguably the apex of his career, Nick Nolte shines as the charismatic but ferocious police detective. His performance as Mike Brennan, the charming raconteur and imposing super cop, nails how police officers become invincible from prosecution or public backlash. Fellow cops and commanding officers are hesitant to look into Brennan’s sketchy background, not just out of fear, but also because they view him as a guardian of the community against the treacherous urban streets. Brennan is juxtaposed to the lawful boy scout in Al, who gradually develops a hard edge as his investigation runs into roadblocks.

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In a period of increasingly intensified scrutiny surrounding brutality, abuse of power, and the political machinations behind the police force, the tepid response to Q & A upon release indicates that it was simply ahead of its time, similar to Network. Lumet builds toward completing Al’s heroic arc by finding incriminating evidence against Brennan. The detective is shot dead in the police precinct, but, despite his villainous ways, there is no catharsis to his demise. Lumet teases that the files documenting Brennan’s Q & A session will lead to his indictment, but nothing arises, because a legal document is nothing compared to a corrupt mayor’s office.

In a chilling climax, Al, in one last gasp of hope, threatens his boss, Bloomenfeld (Lee Richarson), that he’ll leak the rampant corruption to the press. Bloomenfeld, in a non-threatening, pragmatic manner, informs Al that the mayor’s office will deny his mother her widow’s service pension if this story is publicized. In a fit of rage, Al destroys Bloomenfeld’s office, distraught over the systemic cover-up orchestrated at the highest levels of public office. In the end, Q & A shows that heroes are merely cogs in the machine, and the heavies like Brennan are pawns controlled by politicians and mobsters.

In Q&A, a young district attorney investigates a corrupt police detective, while navigating complicated personal ties with a former lover and her influential new protector, a crime boss. As he seeks justice, he faces challenges intertwined with power dynamics and moral dilemmas within the justice system.Release Date April 27, 1990 Cast Nick Nolte , Timothy Hutton , Armand Assante , Patrick O’Neal , Lee Richardson , Luis Guzman , Charles S. Dutton , Jenny Lumet , Paul Calderon , International Chrysis , Dominic Chianese , Leonardo Cimino , Fyvush Finkel , Gustavo Brens , Martin E. Brens , Maurice Schell Runtime 132 Minutes Expand

Q&A is available to watch on Hulu and Disney+ with Hulu in the U.S.

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