# Q & A (1990 film)
**Q & A** is a 1990 American crime drama directed by [Sidney Lumet](https://www.edgepedia.org/sidney-lumet), adapted by Lumet from a 1976 novel by Edwin Torres, a New York State Supreme Court justice. [Nick Nolte](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-nolte) plays Lieutenant Mike Brennan, an openly racist New York police detective under investigation for the purportedly justifiable shooting of a Latino drug dealer, and [Timothy Hutton](https://www.edgepedia.org/timothy-hutton) plays Al Reilly, the young assistant district attorney assigned to the case. Armand Assante co-stars as a flamboyant drug dealer.[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/qa/) • [2](https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/6073/q-a)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Sidney Lumet, adapting his own screenplay from Edwin Torres's 1976 novel[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/qa/) • [2](https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/6073/q-a) |
| Principal cast | Nick Nolte (Lt. Mike Brennan), Timothy Hutton (Al Reilly), Armand Assante, Patrick O'Neal, Charles S. Dutton, Luis Guzmán[3](https://tubitv.com/movies/100047595/q-a) |
| Release | April 27, 1990 (United States); distributed by Tri-Star[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100442/) • [5](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet) |
| Runtime and rating | 132 minutes; rated R for profanity, graphic violence, and scenes with sex, drugs, and nudity[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100442/) • [6](https://www.deseret.com/1990/4/27/18858972/q-a-answers-tough-ethical-questions-in-gritty-graphic-way/) |
| Producers | Arnon Milchan and Burtt Harris[7](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/1fbd0e6a-300d-54c4-89a8-bb007ea25633/q-a) |
| Reception | Metascore 66 (generally favorable); IMDb rating 6.6/10 from about 8,400 votes[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/q-a/critic-reviews/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100442/) |
| Television version | Lumet was unhappy with the television edit and had his name replaced with the pseudonym "Alan Smithee"[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100442/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens with Brennan cold-bloodedly murdering a man who drunkenly exits a club in a rundown part of town, then coercing two eyewitnesses to testify that the victim had a gun in his hand.[6](https://www.deseret.com/1990/4/27/18858972/q-a-answers-tough-ethical-questions-in-gritty-graphic-way/) Reilly, a former policeman and the son of a well-respected top cop, is assigned his first case: the police commissioner tells him it is a "cut and dried" case of justifiable homicide, and his politically ambitious homicide chief, Kevin Quinn (Patrick O'Neal), expects him to sweep the Brennan matter under the carpet.[6](https://www.deseret.com/1990/4/27/18858972/q-a-answers-tough-ethical-questions-in-gritty-graphic-way/) • [5](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet)
Reilly's investigation instead uncovers a network of corruption and clannishness winding through drug-dealing Hispanics, Mafia connections, a Jewish shyster, and a liberal Jewish district attorney.[5](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet) The Hispanic drug overlord turns out to have a girlfriend (played by [Jenny Lumet](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-lumet), the director's daughter) who once broke off a love affair with Reilly after seeing his reaction to learning that her father was black, a detail that forces the young prosecutor to confront his own bigotry.[5](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-21-ca-1065-story.html)
## Themes
Racism is the film's central subject. Lumet said of it, "Everyone — the Irish, the Italians, the Puerto Ricans — makes decisions, nurses antagonisms along racial and ethnic lines, consciously and unconsciously."[2](https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/6073/q-a) Stanley Kauffmann, longtime film critic of [The New Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-republic), noted that the screenplay never discusses racism in dialogue; it simply depicts it, centrally and tangentially, beginning with a murder based on the idea of an inferior race and disclosing other kinds of clannishness as the plot untangles, with no rosy promise of improvement at the end.[5](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet)
The film continued Lumet's long engagement with New York police corruption, following his earlier adaptations of true stories in *Serpico* (1973) and *Prince of the City* (1981).[6](https://www.deseret.com/1990/4/27/18858972/q-a-answers-tough-ethical-questions-in-gritty-graphic-way/) Film at [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center) described it as a return to a favorite subject, corruption inside the [New York City Police Department](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-city-police-department), and called it his best film of the 1990s.[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/qa/)
## Production
Lumet worked again with his longtime cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, whose lighting ranged from police offices to gay nightclubs to luxe San Juan hotels, and with music by [Rubén Blades](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruben-blades), whose song "Don't Double-Cross the Ones You Love" appears on the soundtrack.[5](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100442/) Filming locations included CBGB's at 315 Bowery in Manhattan.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100442/) Nolte gained weight and adopted a slovenly look for the role of Brennan.[6](https://www.deseret.com/1990/4/27/18858972/q-a-answers-tough-ethical-questions-in-gritty-graphic-way/)
## Reception
Critical response was generally favorable. The film holds a Metascore of 66, with 20 of 29 counted critic reviews positive and none negative.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/q-a/critic-reviews/) Roger Ebert wrote that the movie works as a police thriller while probing feelings viewers may keep secret even from themselves, and Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called it "a major film by one of our finest mainstream directors."[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/q-a/critic-reviews/) Peter Travers in Rolling Stone praised the casting and called Nolte electrifying; Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times called Nolte's turn his boldest, most spellbinding performance.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/q-a/critic-reviews/) Reviewers were less uniform on the film's messaging: the Deseret News critic found the delivery mostly heavy-handed, while Kauffmann judged the territory familiar but well re-entered.[6](https://www.deseret.com/1990/4/27/18858972/q-a-answers-tough-ethical-questions-in-gritty-graphic-way/) • [5](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet)
The film was not popular at the time of release, and its poor box-office performance was noted in a 1991 Los Angeles Times report on Lumet's departure from a planned adaptation of *What Makes Sammy Run?*[10](https://film-authority.com/2019/06/21/q-a-1990/) • [11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-27-ca-62-story.html) Retrospective assessments have been kinder; a later survey placed it among the substantial films of Lumet's later career.[10](https://film-authority.com/2019/06/21/q-a-1990/)
## Availability
In the United States the film streams free with ads on YouTube, Plex, and Tubi, and can be rented from $2.99 or bought from $12.99 on Apple TV; it is not currently on a subscription service in the US or UK.[12](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/q-and-a) • [13](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/q-and-a-1990-31598)
## References
1. [Q&A, Film at Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/qa/)
2. [Q & A, Film Review, Spirituality & Practice](https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/6073/q-a)
3. [Watch Q&A (1990), Tubi](https://tubitv.com/movies/100047595/q-a)
4. [Q&A (1990), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100442/)
5. [TNR Film Classic: 'Q & A' (1990), Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic](https://newrepublic.com/article/86502/tnr-film-classic-q-a-1990-sidney-lumet)
6. [`Q&A' Answers Tough Ethical Questions in Gritty, Graphic Way, Deseret News, April 27, 1990](https://www.deseret.com/1990/4/27/18858972/q-a-answers-tough-ethical-questions-in-gritty-graphic-way/)
7. [Q & A (1990), British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/1fbd0e6a-300d-54c4-89a8-bb007ea25633/q-a)
8. [Q & A Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/q-a/critic-reviews/)
9. [All in the Lumet Family, Los Angeles Times, April 21, 1990](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-21-ca-1065-story.html)
10. [Q & A 1990, film-authority.com](https://film-authority.com/2019/06/21/q-a-1990/)
11. ['Sammy' Loses Lumet, Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1991](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-27-ca-62-story.html)
12. [Q & A streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/q-and-a)
13. [Where to watch Q & A (1990), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/q-and-a-1990-31598)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1990s films › Crime dramas and gangster films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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