Resident Alien

At age 73, writer and master of the bon mot, Quentin Crisp (1908-1999) moved to New York. After his horrible childhood, youth, and maturity in London, where he was scorned, beaten, and harassed for being “effeminate”, he became, in his old age, famous and beloved as an Englishman in New York. Nossiter’s camera follows Crisp about the streets of Manhattan, where he seems very much at home. The portrait that emerges is one of wit and wisdom and of the importance of humour as a weapon in the struggle against oppression.