Last Exit to Brooklyn

Georgette is a transgender woman in New York City. She defies the male gender that she was assigned at birth, embracing her female identity and declaring herself a “hip queer” (18), though her family violently disapprove of her drug use, clothing, and makeup. She is a sex worker and loves a man named Vinnie, who is hesitant to show her any affection in public. Vinnie started stealing cars at a young age and has been to jail. Every time he is released, he returns to the Greek diner and continues stealing cars. He likes Georgette’s attention but suggests to his friends that he is not interested in her, even while privately flirting with her.

Vinnie laughs when Harry, one of Freddy’s friends, waves a knife at her and jokes about castration. Vinnie joins Harry’s game: They make Georgette dance while throwing a knife at her feet. They are shocked when the knife hits her in the leg. As the other diner customers laugh, Georgette looks to Vinnie for sympathy. He laughs then helps to dress the wound. When she suggests that she go to the hospital, Vinnie is worried that the police will throw him back in jail, so he insists on taking her home; Georgette is terrified of how her violent brother will react, and she does not want to spend a week recovering in her home, especially if she goes through drug withdrawal at the same time. Ignoring her, Vinnie puts Georgette in a taxi to her family’s house. He promises to visit the next day.

Georgette limps into her house and greets her mother, hoping to avoid her brother, Arthur. As Georgette’s mother nurses the wound, Arthur arrives and mocks his sister, calling her a “disgusting degenerate” (25). A doctor examines Georgette, who begs for Vinnie to save her. Arthur takes Georgette’s hidden stash of illegal Benzedrine pills and tears through her wardrobe of women’s clothes, even as their mother begs him to stop. One night, Georgette sneaks out of the house with money stolen from her mother’s purse. She feels the drug withdrawal take hold and needs to find Benzedrine, so she visits a friend. When they hear about her terrible experience, the friends throw a party in Georgette’s honor.

Georgette invites Vinnie and his friends, who arrive in a swirl of jocular bravado. The guests indulge various substances. Georgette obsesses over Vinnie and wants him to be her lover, but the inebriation makes focusing on him difficult. She speculates about Rosie’s life as Harry stares fixedly at Rosie. They switch to a different apartment, and the party continues. With increasing intoxication, partygoers excitedly swap sexual stories.

A badly beaten pregnant woman arrives and interrupts the party. The woman is Mary, the sister of Tony who owns the apartment. Mary’s screams threaten to ruin the festive mood, but then, Mary’s water breaks. The partiers carry her to a taxi and send her to the hospital.

Worried that people’s moods have waned, Georgette performs a dramatic rendition of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. Everyone appreciates the poem, and Georgette enjoys the attention. As dawn approaches and guests leave, Georgette makes sure that Vinnie and his friends have a supply of drink and drugs. With everyone deeply inebriated, Harry gets into an argument with another transgender woman named Lee. He attacks her and encourages Vinnie to help him sexually assault her. Vinnie agrees, and they drag Lee into a bedroom and rape her as Georgette watches on in horror. People cheer and begin performing sex acts on one another. Overwhelmed, Georgette goes with Vinnie to the bedroom. They have sex, but she has confusing visions of Harry. Afterward, Vinnie (or Harry) does not kiss her, and while this disappoints her, Georgette tells herself it will be different next time.

Georgette injects herself with morphine and exits the building, wandering the streets of New York and imagining her future with Vinnie. As she lays down and feels the cold creeping over her, however, she realizes that she had sex with Harry, rather than Vinnie.